Panthera principialis
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Laetoli “lion” (Panthera principialis sp.)
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Expansion and period of existence: Pliocene of Africa (3.7 million years ago)
Dimensions: length - 1.8 m, tail length - 70 cm, height - 90-95 cm, weight - 120-200 kg
There seems to be no doubt that the lion-sized cat is a species of its own, representing an early stage of Panthera intrageneric evolution, the metapopulation around the first node as defined by molecular phylogenetics. Taxonomically it is introduced as Panthera principialis sp. nov. The Early Pleistocene lion-sized cat from the South African sites Bolt’s Farm, Swartkrans and Kromdraai is here attributed species rank, P. shawi, and understood to represent the metapopulation around the lion-leopard evolutionary node.
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Laetoli “lion” (Panthera principialis sp.)
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Expansion and period of existence: Pliocene of Africa (3.7 million years ago)
Dimensions: length - 1.8 m, tail length - 70 cm, height - 90-95 cm, weight - 120-200 kg
There seems to be no doubt that the lion-sized cat is a species of its own, representing an early stage of Panthera intrageneric evolution, the metapopulation around the first node as defined by molecular phylogenetics. Taxonomically it is introduced as Panthera principialis sp. nov. The Early Pleistocene lion-sized cat from the South African sites Bolt’s Farm, Swartkrans and Kromdraai is here attributed species rank, P. shawi, and understood to represent the metapopulation around the lion-leopard evolutionary node.