Panthera leo europaea (European Lion)

[another specialist]

admin said:

Aristotle and Herodotus wrote that lions were found in the Balkans in the middle of the first millennium B.C. When Xerxes advanced through Macedonia in 480 B.C., several of his baggage camels were killed by lions. Lions are believed to have died out within the borders of present-day Greece in A.D. 80-100.
Source: www.asiatic-lion.org/distrib.html

[another specialist]

Last known lion in Turkey killed in 1870 near Birecik on the Eurphrates (Üstay 1990).

from source Peter mentioned above

[temujin]

About the presence of lions in Europe,this site talk about a extinction of the lions in Western Europe in the year 1 AC:

rg.ancients.info/lion/lions.html

Lions in the wild are thought to have disappeared from Greece around 100 BC, from Western Europe around 1 AD, and from Eastern Europe around 100 AD, but they survived in Turkey until the late 19th century and Iraq and Iran into the early 20th century.

And this site talk about presence of lions in Italy too in early Roman times:
www.endangeredspecieshandbook.org/persecution_roman.php

The tradition of killing animals for pleasure has a long history in Asia and Europe. So popular was hunting in ancient Rome that mosaics and paintings often depicted this pastime as a heroic activity. Slaughtering animals was considered a form of entertainment, and people scoured the countryside for bears, Lions, stags and boars to pursue with spears and dogs (Attenborough 1987).

And:

The Lion disappeared at an early time from Italy and Greece after being hunted and captured by the thousands for gladiator spectacles. When European Lions had been killed off, Romans turned to North Africa. The Barbary or Atlas Lion (Panthera leo leo), once distributed through much of the region north of the Sahara, fell victim to hunting and Roman Coliseum games.

[another specialist]

Welcome to the forum yottalex I agree we should wait for the bones to confirm this to be valid or not.

This debate is still open until then.

[Peter]

I've found a recent article that includes the lion taxonmy to subspecific level.

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.
www.uni-mainz.de/FB/Biologie/Anthropologie/Burger_Cave_Lion.pdf

Species: Panthera leo (lion)
Group: spelaea (Pleistocene)
Subspecies
Panthera leo fossilis (Early Middle Pleistocene European cave
lion)
Panthera leo vereshchagini (East Siberian and Beringian cave lion)
Panthera leo atrox (North American cave lion)
Panthera leo spelaea (Upper Pleistocene European cave lion)
Group: leo (African and South-Asian lions)
Subgroup: persica
Panthera leo persica (South Asian lion)
close to persica subgroup
Panthera leo leo (Atlas lion)
Subgroup: senegalensis
Panthera leo senegalensis (West African lion)
Panthera leo azandica (North East Congo lion)
Panthera leo nubica (East African lion)
Panthera leo bleyenberghi (Southwest African lion)
Panthera leo krugeri (Southeast African lion)
Panthera leo melanochaita (Cape lion)

They don't inlcude Panthera leo europaea as a valid subspecies!

[another specialist]

The main differences between lion subspecies are location, size and mane appearance, however some of the forms listed below are debatable. Genetic evidence suggests that all modern lions derived from one common ancestor only circa 55,000 years ago, therefore most sub-Saharan lions could be considered a single subspecies. Notable exceptions would be the cape lion (P. l. melanochaita) and the kalahari lion (P. l. Verneyi).

Panthera leo atrox - American Lion
Panthera leo azandica - North East Congo lion.
Panthera leo bleyenberghi - Katanga lion.
Panthera leo europaea - European lion. Extinct around 100 AD due to hunting, over-exploitation and competition from feral dogs. From Portugal to Bulgaria. Used in the roman arenas along with the Barbary lion.
Panthera leo hollisteri - Congo lion.
Panthera leo krugeri - South African lion.
Panthera leo leo - Barbary lion; extinct in the wild. This was the largest of the lion subspecies, which ranged from Morocco to Egypt. The last wild Barbary lion was killed in Morocco in 1922 due to excessive hunting. Barbary lions were kept by Roman emperors to take part in the gladiator arenas. Roman notables, including Sulla, Pompey, and Julius Caesar, often ordered the mass slaughter of Barbary lions - up to 400 at a time. [2]
Panthera leo massaicus - Massai lion.
Panthera leo melanochaita - Cape lion; extinct in 1860.
Panthera leo nubica - East African lion.
Panthera leo persica - Asiatic lion. 350 currently exist in and near the Gir Forest of India. Once widespread from Turkey, across the Middle East, to India and Bangladesh, but large prides and daylight activity made it easier to poach than tigers or leopards.
Panthera leo roosevelti - Abyssinian lion.
Panthera leo senegalensis - West African lion, or Senegal lion.
Panthera leo somaliensis - Somali lion.
Panthera leo spelaea - European cave lion or Eurasian cave lion.
Panthera leo verneyi - Kalahari lion. Distinct behaviour and anatomy has been observed in this subspecies.
Panthera leo maculatus - Marozi. Status as subspecies is unconfirmed. Distinguishable from other subspecies by its spotted coat. Thought to be extinct since 1931. May have been a natural leopard/lion hybrid.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion

[Peter]

Yes, wikipedia lists all or at least most described subspecies. But I was not able to find any (new) scientific article/report that mentiones the europaea subspecies. They all only mention persica and spelaea as lion subspecies in Europe (and two other prehistoric mentioned earlier). Personally I see Panthera leo europaea as an invalid subspecies.

[Peter]

While reading the following article:
Barnett, R., N. Yamaguchi, I. Barnes & A. Cooper. 2006. Lost populations and preserving genetic diversity in the lion Panthera leo: Implications for its ex situ conservation. Conservation Genetics.
abc.zoo.ox.ac.uk/Papers/consgen06_lion.pdf

...I see that they write that there are 8 recognised lion subspecies. Sadly they don't name them.

[Peter]

Weel looking to my other post with the lion taxonomy, I'm sure they are these 8:
Panthera leo persica (South Asian lion)
Panthera leo leo (Atlas lion)
Panthera leo senegalensis (West African lion)
Panthera leo azandica (North East Congo lion)
Panthera leo nubica (East African lion)
Panthera leo bleyenberghi (Southwest African lion)
Panthera leo krugeri (Southeast African lion)
Panthera leo melanochaita (Cape lion)

They don't mention the prehistoric subspecies.

[Peter]

I see the French wikipedia has included the latest research and synonyms:
fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion

They write that Panthera leo europaea is a synonym of Panthera leo spelaea.

[another specialist]

Thanks Peter for all the above - i just posted the wikipedia entry just as a reference plus comparision.

But has there been any scientific research to say valid or not?
Has there been any fossil finds to compare with past and present species or subspecies?

If not its all word of mouth and personal opinions and no one truly has the authority to give an answer saying its valid, its not valid or its a synonym.

Until they have bones or ideally a skull for comparing who know at present no one it seems.

[another specialist]

carlos said:

That in return points to the other known fact that the lions present in historical times in the Balkans as well as in the Near East countries had full developed manes. Both facts, together with the very different genetic lineages found in Pleistocene and in historical lions, makes more acceptable the fact that Panthera leo spelaea became extinct after the las glaciation in Europe, and that the historical lions in Europe were closer to (if not the same form) Panthera leo persica and/or Panthera leo leo.

Thats my opinion. Comments welcome

I would say your opinions are more correct than classing Panthera leo europaea as a synonym of Panthera leo spelaea. I say they belong to two completely different lineages and it may be a true subspecies of its own or may be Pantherea leo persica or leo leo but neither at present can be confirmed.

[Carlos]

Well, maybe if some recent Holocene remains are to be found somewhere in the Balkans or in Turkey, more DNA test could be achieved and solve the problem to which lineage did recent european lions belong?

Or are already there recent lion bones hidden in unknown collections somewhere in any Balkan or Caucasian country waiting for further analysis?

[Peter]

anotherspecialist said:

I would say your opinions are more correct than classing Panthera leo europaea as a synonym of Panthera leo spelaea. I say they belong to two completely different lineages and it may be a true subspecies of its own or may be Pantherea leo persica or leo leo but neither at present can be confirmed.

Ik think that they classify Panthera leo europaea as a synonym of Panthera leo spelaea because many sources on Panthera leo europaea say that its also occurred in the whole of Southern Europe, including Portugal, Spain, France and Italy. This must have been the Cave lion as far as I can tell. Does anyone know the author of this lion subspecies, who descibed it and in what year, because I cannot find that.

[temujin]

I found this site(in russian),that talk about about the european lion:
www.ecoinform.ru/public/release/?id=14682

Translating this to english with the help of the Altavista Babelfish Tradutor,and making some corrections:
European lion 20:43, 20.03.2006
European lion (Panthera leo europaea) - was the contemporary of ancient Greeks and Romans. The area of the inhabiting of the only important representative of the big cats on the European continent was extended on entire south, along was coast the Mediterranean and was encountered in the territory of contemporary the Balkans, Italy, France, Spain and Portugal. In Greece, Rome and Macedonia the lion was the popular object of hunting and frequently it participated in Roman gladiatorial combat, as the notorious victim. Already European lions were practically destroyed at the beginning of the first millenium. The latter from the European lions was killed in Greece of approximately 100 g. n. 3.

[noxomanus]

As for the importance of maneless-less in male lions and the hunting of very large prey, I recommend this post on a great natural history blog (and I advise everyone to read a few articles there)

darrennaish.blogspot.com/2006/11/giant-killers-macropredation-in-lions.html

According to this highly respectable article, the scientific focus on the lions in the Serengeti has lead to a rather simplistic view of lion behaviour, especially in terms of their prey species. Furthermore, it is not unusual for African male lions to be maneless.

When taking this article in mind, I can actually perfectly imagine European lions tackling aurochs, perhaps even individually.

[another specialist]

Thread for

Cave Lion (Panthera leo spelea)

extinctanimals.proboards22.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=quaternary&thread=1167974957

[another specialist]

Asiatic Lion - Asiatic Lions in EuropeSeptember 7, 2006 at 8:11 pm · Filed under Lions

Lions used to live in historic times also in Europe. 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. Lions are believed to have died out within the borders of present-day Greece in A.D. 80-100. The european population is generally considered part of the Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica) group, but others consider it a separate subspecies, the European lion (Panthera leo europaea).

There was also a population of the Asiatic Lion in the Caucasus mountains, which was the northernmost point of the lion range until they become extinct in the area. These lions become extinct from Armenia around the year 300 and from Azerbaijan and southweast Russia during the 10th century. In this area the lion coexisted with other Big Cats like the Caspian tiger (which survived in Caucasus until the 1920s), the Caucasian leopard and the Asiatic Cheetah, and they prey in Caucasus included the Caucasian Wisent, Caucasian Elk, aurochs, tarpan and others ungulates. It remained widespread elsewhere until the mid-1800s when the advent of firearms led to its extinction over large areas. (Guggisberg 1961) By the late 1800s the lion had disappeared from Turkey (Ustay 1990).

cat.moloshtan.com/category/felines/panthera/lions/

[Carlos]

Nobuyuki Yamaguchi a1c1, Alan Cooper a2, Lars Werdelin a3 and David W. Macdonald. Evolution of the mane and group-living in the lion (Panthera leo): a review. Journal of Zoology (2004), 263: 329-342 Cambridge University Press

Abstract

The evolutionary history of the lion Panthera leo began in Pliocene east Africa, as open habitats expanded towards the end of the Cenozoic. During the middle–late Pleistocene, lions spread to most parts of Eurasia, North America, and may have eventually reached as far south as Peru. Lions probably evolved group-living behaviour before they expanded out of Africa, and this trait is likely to have prevailed in subsequent populations. The first lions were presumed to have been maneless, and maneless forms seem to have persisted in Europe, and possibly the New World, until around 10 000 years ago. The maned form may have appeared c. 320 000–190 000 years ago, and may have had a selective advantage that enabled it to expand to replace the range of earlier maneless forms throughout Africa and western Eurasia by historic times: ‘latest wave hypothesis’.

[Carlos]

Found in TheThera Foundation site, that deal with archaeology, geology, etc in Greece and Santorini,

Species Panthera leo. When the species Panthera leo spelaea (Table 2) became extinct ca. 12,000 BP, it had already given way to the modern lion, which until historical times was native to Asia Minor, India, Iran and Europe. "There are lions mainly in Libya, and in Europe in the region between the Acheloos and the Nessos rivers" (Aristotle, Historia animalium viii 606b,15).(18) To date, lion bones have been identified in the osteological material from six sites in mainland and island Greece (Dikili Tash, Kastanas, Delphi, Kalapodi, Tiryns and Keos).(19) The archaeological data confirm the literary testimonia, and both, combined with the animal's natural majesty, give us not only an understanding of the Mediterranean habitat but also an appreciation of the variety (in terms of thematic repertoire and models) and quantity of representations of the animal over the centuries.(20)

(18). Cf. also ibid. vi 579b,5: It is a fact that the lion is a scarce animal and it is not found in many places. In the whole of Europe it occurs only in the tract of country between the rivers Acheloos and Nessos".
"But Xerxes and his land army marched from Acanthus by the straightest inland course, making for Therma...As Xerxes thus marched, lions attacked the camels that carried his provisions...There are many lions in these parts, and wild oxen...The boundary of the lions' country is the river Nessos that flows through Abdera and the river Acheloos that flows through Acarnania. Neither to the east of the Nessos anywhere in the nearer part of Europe, nor to the west of the Acheloos in the rest of the mainland, is any lion to be seen; but they are found in the country between those rivers") (Herodotus vii 124-126). See also Pausanias ii 3-9 and Pliny, Natural History viii 33.

(19). Dikili Tash: one radius found in a Neolithic context. Kastanas: twelve bones found in five different habitation levels dating from 1200-800/700 BC, and particularly in the transition from the Late Bronze Age to the Iron Age. Delphi: a lion's tooth found by Dr F. Poplin in recent sieving of earth. Keos: two teeth found in an LM IB/LH II context. Tiryns: six bones found in a Bronze Age context. Von den Driesch and Boessneck (1990) give bibliographical references for lion bones at Late Bronze Age Kalapodi in Boeotia, in the late Neolithic/Chalcolithic of the Carpathian basin, and in Eneolithic settlements in the environs of Odessa. At a recent workshop on European vertebrate fauna held in Berlin on the 6th-9th April 1998, Bartosiewicz (1999), Krakhmalnaya (1999: six sites dating from the Chalcolithic to Early Iron Age), Ninov (1999) and Žuravlëv (1999) largely confirm the evidence of the ancient sources and recent research.

(20). The lion is represented in all artistic media: monumental painting, sculpture, architecture, vase painting, glyptic, jewellery, etc.. There is a reference to a lion chasing a deer in Odyssey iv.335-339.

www.therafoundation.org/articles/environmentflorafauna/animalbonesandanimalrepresentationsatlatebronzeageakrotiri