The Quaternary lions of Ukraine and a trend of decreasing size in Panthera spelaea
Journal: Journal of Mammalian Evolution
Year: 2022

Abstract The fossil record of the cave lion, Panthera spelaea , suggests a gradual decrease in body size, the process peaking just before the extinction of the species at the end of the Late Pleistocene. Such an evolutionary trend appears rather unusual for a large felid species and requires further investigation. This study reviews the cave lions of Ukraine, whose fossils are known from 46 localities dated from 800 kyr to 18–17 kyr ago, with a special emphasis on size changes through time. We d