The European lion (Panthera leo europaea) could be an extinct subspecies of lion that inhabited southern Europe until historic times. This population is generally considered part of the Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica), but others consider it a separate subspecies, the European lion (Panthera leo europaea). Maybe also they could be the last remnants of the Cave lion (Panthera leo spelea). The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Subregnum Parazoa Porifera Subregnum Eumetazoa Placozoa Orthonectida Rhombozoa Radiata (unranked) Ctenophora Cnidaria Bilateria (unranked) Acoelomorpha Myxozoa Superphylum Deuterostomia Chordata Hemichordata Echinodermata Chaetognatha Superphylum Ecdysozoa Kinorhyncha Loricifera Priapulida Nematoda Nematomorpha Onychophora Tardigrada Arthropoda Superphylum Platyzoa Platyhelminthes Gastrotricha Rotifera Acanthocephala Gnathostomulida Micrognathozoa Cycliophora Superphylum Lophotrochozoa Sipuncula Nemertea Phoronida Bryozoa Entoprocta Brachiopoda... {{{subdivision_ranks}}} See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Orders Multituberculata (extinct) Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Triconodonta (extinct) Subclass Australosphenida Ausktribosphenida Monotremata Subclass Eutheria (excludes extinct ancestors) Afrosoricida Anagaloidea (extinct) Arctostylopida (extinct) Artiodactyla Carnivora Cetacea Chiroptera Cimolesta (extinct) Cingulata Creodonta (extinct) Condylarthra (extinct) Dermoptera Desmostylia (extinct) Dinocerata (extinct) Embrithopoda (extinct) Hyracoidea Insectivora Lagomorpha Leptictida (extinct) Litopterna (extinct) Macroscelidea Mesonychia (extinct) Notoungulata... Families 17, See classification The diverse and interesting order Carnivora IPA: (from Latin carō (stem carn-) flesh, + vorāre to devour) includes over 260 placental mammals. ... Subfamilies Felinae Pantherinae Acinonychinae Machairodontinae (extinct) The Felidae family includes lions, tigers, domestic cats, and other felines as its members. ... Species Panthera is a genus of the family Felidae (the cats), which contains four well-known species: the tiger, lion, leopard, and jaguar. ... Binomial name Panthera leo (Linnaeus, 1758) Synonyms Felis leo (Linnaeus, 1758) The lion (Panthera leo) is a mammal of the family Felidae and one of four big cats in the genus Panthera. ... Trinomial nomenclature is a taxonomic naming system that extends the standard system of binomial nomenclature by adding a third taxon. ... Binomial name Panthera leo (Linnaeus, 1758) Synonyms Felis leo (Linnaeus, 1758) The lion (Panthera leo) is a mammal of the family Felidae and one of four big cats in the genus Panthera. ... World map showing Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is one of the six inhabited continents of the Earth. ... Trinomial name Panthera leo persica Meyer, 1826 Synonyms Leo leo goojratensis (India) Leo leo persicus (Persia) The Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica) is a subspecies of lion. ... 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. ...

Two prehistoric lions lived in Europe, namely the Early Middle Pleistocene European cave lion Panthera leo fossilis and the Upper Pleistocene European cave lion Panthera leo spelaea.^[1]. 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 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. ...

Distribution

The European lion in historic times inhabited the Iberian Peninsula, southern France, Italy and Balkans.^{[citation needed]} This was the northermost of the subspecies of lion until your extinction. Its habitat was the Mediterranean and temperate forests of the area, with prey that included the wisent, elk, aurochs, deer and other European ungulates. The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe. ... Balkan peninsula with northwest border Isonzo-Krka-Sava The Balkans is the historic and geographic name used to describe a region of southeastern Europe. ... Binomial name Bison bonasus (Linnaeus, 1758) The Wisent or European Bison (Bison bonasus) (IPA: ) is a bison species and the heaviest land animal in Europe. ... Binomial name Alces alces (Linnaeus, 1758) Moose range map The moose (so named in North America) or elk (in Europe), Alces alces, is the largest member of the deer family Cervidae, distinguished from the others by the palmate antlers of its males. ... Trinomial name Bos primigenius primigenius (Bojanus, 1827) Bos primigenius namadicus (Falconer, 1859) Bos primigenius mauretanicus (Thomas, 1881) See Ur (rune) for the rune. ... Subfamilies Odocoilinae Cervinae Hydropotinae Muntiacinae A deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. ...

Extinction

Due to their remote extinction, little is known about these subspecies of lion. Aristotle and Herodotus wrote that lions were found in the Balkans in the middle of the first millennium B.C. When Xerxes advanced through Macedon in 480 B.C., several of his baggage camels were killed by lions. Before the Common Era they became extinct from Italy and around the year 1 from Western Europe. Around the year 70 they were restricted to northern Greece, in the area between the rivers Aliakmon and Nestus. Finally, in the year 100 they became extinct in Eastern Europe too. After that lions in the European continent became restricted to the Caucasus, where a population of the Asiatic lion survived until the 10th century. Aristotle (Greek: AristotélÄ“s) (384 BCE – March 7, 322 BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. ... Bust of Herodotus Herodotus of Halicarnassus (Greek: , Herodotos Halikarnasseus) was a Dorian Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BC (484 BC - ca. ... Xerxes (the Greek form of the Persian Khshayārsha) is the name of two Persian kings of the Achaemenid dynasty: Xerxes I, reigned 485–465 BC. Xerxes II, reigned 424 BC. Xerxes may also refer to: Xerxes, an Armenian king, killed about 212 BC by Antiochus III the Great. ... Macedons regions and towns Macedon or Macedonia (from Greek ; see also List of traditional Greek place names) was the name of an ancient kingdom in the northern-most part of ancient Greece, bordering the kingdom of Epirus on the west and the region of Thrace to the east. ... The Common Era (CE), is the period of measured time beginning with the year 1 on the Gregorian calendar. ... Tiberius, under order of Augustus, quelled revolts in Germania (1 - 5) Gaius Caesar and Lucius Aemilius Paullus are appointed as consuls. ... A common understanding of Western Europe in modern times. ... Centuries: 1st century BC - 1st century - 2nd century Decades: 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s - 70s - 80s 90s 100s 110s 120s Years: 65 66 67 68 69 - 70 - 71 72 73 74 75 Events The building of the Colosseum starts (approximate date). ... The Ali kmon (Greek: Αλιάκμων) is the longest river in Greece, with a total length of 322 km (200 miles). ... ... -1... Regions of Europe as delineated by the United Nations (UN definition of Eastern Europe marked salmon):  Northern Europe  Western Europe  Eastern Europe  Southern Europe Pre-1989 division between the West (grey) and Eastern Bloc (orange) superimposed on current national boundaries: Russia (dark orange), other countries of the former USSR (medium... The Ethnolinguistic patchwork of the modern Caucasus - CIA map Russia Georgia Azerbaijan (Azer. ... Trinomial name Panthera leo persica Meyer, 1826 Synonyms Leo leo goojratensis (India) Leo leo persicus (Persia) The Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica) is a subspecies of lion. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ...

The European Lion became extinct due to excessive hunting (lion hunting was popular among the Greeks and Romans), over-exploitation, and competition with feral dogs. Along with the Barbary lion and the Asiatic lion the European lion was used in the Roman arenas, were they fought against gladiators and other animals like the Caspian tiger, the aurochs and bears. Due to geographical distribution they were more accessible to Romans than North African and Middle Eastern lions. When the European lion was walking toward extinction, Romans began to import lions from North Africa and the Middle East to fight in the arenas. Further details about their extinction are unknown. For other meanings, see Pariah Kritikos Lagonikos, a. ... Trinomial name Panthera leo leo (Linnaeus, 1758) The Barbary Lion Panthera leo leo is a subspecies of lion. ... Trinomial name Panthera leo persica Meyer, 1826 Synonyms Leo leo goojratensis (India) Leo leo persicus (Persia) The Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica) is a subspecies of lion. ... The Colosseum by night: exterior view of the best-preserved section. ... This article is about the Roman professional fighter. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Trinomial name Bos primigenius primigenius (Bojanus, 1827) Bos primigenius namadicus (Falconer, 1859) Bos primigenius mauretanicus (Thomas, 1881) See Ur (rune) for the rune. ... Genera Ailuropoda Ailurus Helarctos Melursus Ursus Tremarctos Arctodus (extinct) A bear is a large mammal in the family Ursidae of the order Carnivora. ...  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ...

See also

• Asiatic Lion
• Lion

Trinomial name Panthera leo persica Meyer, 1826 Synonyms Leo leo goojratensis (India) Leo leo persicus (Persia) The Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica) is a subspecies of lion. ... Binomial name Panthera leo (Linnaeus, 1758) Synonyms Felis leo (Linnaeus, 1758) The lion (Panthera leo) is a mammal of the family Felidae and one of four big cats in the genus Panthera. ...

References

• ↑ Burger J, Rosendahl W, Loreille O, Hemmer H, Eriksson T, Götherström A, Hiller J, Collins MJ, Wess T, Alt KW. (2004). Molecular phylogeny of the extinct cave lion Panthera leo spelaea. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 30, 841–849. Online pdf
• ↑ Asiatic Lion Information Centre. 2001 Past and present distribution of the lion in North Africa and Southwest Asia. Downloaded on 1st June 2006 from http://www.asiatic-lion.org/distrib.html.