American Lion Fossil range: Pleistocene
Reconstruction of the American Lion
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Felidae Genus: Panthera Species: P. leo Subspecies: P. l. atrox
Trinomial name
Panthera leo atrox (Leidy, 1853)

The American lion (Panthera leo atrox) also known as the North American lion or American cave lion, is an extinct feline known from fossils. It was one of the largest subspecies of lion ever to have existed, comparable in size to the Early Middle Pleistocene primitive cave lion, Panthera leo fossilis, and about twenty-five percent larger than the modern African lion^[1], though some estimates of the weight of this animal are as high as 300 kg. Binomial name (Linnaeus, 1771) Cougar range map Synonyms Felis concolor The cougar (Puma concolor), also puma, mountain lion, or panther, is a mammal of the Felidae family, native to the Americas. ... The Pleistocene epoch (IPA: ) on the geologic timescale is the period from 1,808,000 to 11,550 years BP. The Pleistocene epoch had been intended to cover the worlds recent period of repeated glaciations. ... For other uses, see Scientific classification (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Subclasses & Infraclasses Subclass †Allotheria* Subclass Prototheria Subclass Theria Infraclass †Trituberculata Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria Mammals (class Mammalia) are warm-blooded, vertebrate animals characterized by the presence of sweat glands, including milk producing sweat glands, and by the presence of: hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex... Families 17, See classification The diverse order Carnivora (IPA: or ; from Latin carō (stem carn-) flesh, + vorāre to devour) includes over 260 species of placental mammals. ... “Feline” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Panthera (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Lion (disambiguation). ... Trinomial nomenclature is a taxonomic naming system that extends the standard system of binomial nomenclature by adding a third taxon. ... Joseph Leidy (1823–1891) was an American paleontologist. ... 1853 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... In biology and ecology, extinction is the ceasing of existence of a species or group of species. ... “Feline” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Fossil (disambiguation). ... Trinomial name Panthera Leo Fossilis (Reichenau, 1906) Panthera Leo Fossilis, sometimes known as Early Middle Pleistocene primitive cave lion is an extinct feline of the Early and Middle Pleistocene. ... For other uses, see Lion (disambiguation). ...

Description

The American Lion is a North American extinct animal. The body length of the American lion is estimated to have been 1.6-2.5 m (5.25-8.20 feet).^[2] Thus it was comparable in size to its close relative, the extinct lion, Panthera leo fossilis, or the modern species of Amur Tiger, but still smaller than their contemporary competitor for prey, the short-faced bear, which was the largest carnivore of their era. Trinomial name Panthera Leo Fossilis (Reichenau, 1906) Panthera Leo Fossilis, sometimes known as Early Middle Pleistocene primitive cave lion is an extinct feline of the Early and Middle Pleistocene. ... Trinomial name Panthera tigris altaica Temminck, 1884 Distribution of the Amur Tiger (in red) A stretching Siberian tiger The Amur Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) is a rare subspecies of tiger (). Also known as the Siberian, Korean, Manchurian, or North China Tiger, it is the largest natural animal in the feline... Arctodus, also known as the Short-Faced Bear, is a genus of extinct bear. ... Carnivorism redirects here. ...

Bronze cast of an American lion skull at the San Diego Natural History Museum (shown with a ballpoint pen to demonstrate scale)

Approximately one hundred specimens of American lions have been recovered from the La Brea Tar Pits, in Los Angeles, so their body structure is well known. The features and teeth of the extinct American lion strongly resemble modern lions, but they were considerably larger. They probably were plain coloured, and males would have lacked a mane, as it is supposed for their close relatives, the Cave Lion, although some may have had small manes. The San Diego Natural History Museum was founded in 1874 as the San Diego Society of Natural History. ... La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles Countys Miracle Mile District. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... Trinomial name Panthera leo spelaea Goldfuss, 1810 The cave lion, also known as the European or Eurasian cave lion, is an extinct feline known from fossils and a wide variety of prehistoric art. ...

Range

South of Alaska, the American lion first appeared during the Sangamonian (the last interglacial). After that it was widespread in the Americas from Alaska to Peru, being absent only in eastern North America and peninsular Florida.^[2] As did many other large mammals, it went extinct at the end of the Pleistocene, about 10,000 years ago. By then the American lion was one of the abundant Pleistocene megafauna, a wide variety of very large mammals who lived during the Pleistocene. Remains are most common in the Yukon and from the La Brea Tar Pits. Their remains are much rarer in the Tar Pits than those of the more famous, Smilodon (saber-toothed cat), however, suggesting greater intelligence at avoiding the traps ^[3] or that they used different hunting strategies than the Smilodon. The Pleistocene epoch (IPA: ) on the geologic timescale is the period from 1,808,000 to 11,550 years BP. The Pleistocene epoch had been intended to cover the worlds recent period of repeated glaciations. ... Glaciation, often called an ice age, is a geological phenomenon in which massive ice sheets form in the Arctic and Antarctic and advance toward the equator. ... The Pleistocene epoch (IPA: ) on the geologic timescale is the period from 1,808,000 to 11,550 years BP. The Pleistocene epoch had been intended to cover the worlds recent period of repeated glaciations. ... It has been suggested that New World Pleistocene extinctions be merged into this article or section. ... This article is about the Canadian territory. ... La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles Countys Miracle Mile District. ... Binomial name (Leidy, 1869) Smilodon fatalis (the deadly Smilodon) is possibly the best-known of the machairodontine saber-toothed cats. ...

Environment

In some areas of its range, the American lion lived under cold climatic conditions. They probably used man caves or fissures for shelter from the cold weather. They may have lined their dens with grass or leaves, as the Siberian tiger does, another great cat who currently lives in the north. Trinomial name Panthera tigris altaica Temminck, 1884 Distribution of the Siberian tiger (in red) The Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) is a rare subspecies of tiger (). Also known as the Amur, Manchurian, Korean, Altaic, or North China tiger, it is confined completely to the Amur region in the Far East...

There are fewer American lions in the La Brea tar pits than other predators such as saber-toothed cats (Smilodon fatalis) or dire wolves (Canis dirus), which suggests they may have been smart enough to avoid the hazard or their hunting methods and strategies didn't include hunting entrapped prey. American lions likely preyed on deer, North American horses (now extinct), American Bison, mammoths, and other large, herbivorous animals. Binomial name Leidy, 1858 For the BattleMech also known as Dire Wolf, see Daishi (BattleMech). ... This article is about the ruminent animal. ... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus, sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ... Binomial name (Linnaeus, 1758) Subspecies B. b. ... This article is about the genus Mammuthus. ... In zoology, an herbivore is an animal that is adapted to eat primarily plants (rather than meat). ...

Their extinction may have been related to the Holocene extinction event, which wiped out most of the prey of megafauna. Their bones have been found among the refuse of Paleolithic Native Americans, so hunting by humans may have contributed to their demise also. The Dodo, a bird of Mauritius, became extinct during the mid-late 17th century after humans destroyed the forests where the birds made their homes and introduced animals that ate their eggs. ... It has been suggested that Charismatic megafauna be merged into this article or section. ... For other uses, see Native Americans (disambiguation). ...

A replica of the jaw of the first specimen of American lion discovered can be seen in the hand of a statue of paleontologist Joseph Leidy, which is currently standing outside the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. A paleontologist carefully chips rock from a column of dinosaur vertebrae. ... Joseph Leidy (1823–1891) was an American paleontologist. ... The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia was founded in 1812 to expand knowledge of the natural world. ... For other uses, see Philadelphia (disambiguation) and Philly. ...

Classification

Normally, the American lion is considered a subspecies of lion, with the scientific name, Panthera leo atrox (pronounced /ˈpænθərə ˈliːoʊ ˈætrɒks/), which means cruel or fearsome lion in Latin); but occasionally it is considered a species in its own right, under the name, Panthera atrox. At least one authority, considers the cave lion to be more closely related to the tiger citing a comparison of skull shapes (Groiss, 1996), however, recent genetic research demonstrates that the American lion has a closer genetic relationship to the modern lion.^[4] This article is about the zoological term. ... For other uses, see Lion (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Latins and Latin (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Species (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Tiger (disambiguation). ... For other uses of Skull, see Skull (disambiguation). ...

See also

• Panthera leo vereshchagini, the East Siberian or Beringian cave lion.

Trinomial name Panthera leo vereshchagini (Baryshnikov & Boeskorov, 2001) Panthera leo vereshchagini, also known as the East Siberian and Beringian cave lion, was a small fossil lion that inhabited Yakutia (Russia), Alaska (USA), and the Yukon Territory (Canada). ...

References

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution is a prominent scientific journal, popular mostly among evolutionary biologists. ...

External links

Wikispecies has information related to:

Panthera leo atrox

• Prehistoric cats and prehistoric cat-like creatures, from the Messybeast Cat Resource Archive.
• American lion, by C. R. Harrington, from Yukon Beringia Interpretative Center.
• Panthera atrox 1853, from the Academy of Natural Sciences. (the original specimen)
• Panthera Atrox in Cryptozoology