The American lion

Marcel | Apr 26, 2011 |

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The very big cat that roamed the North American continent

The American Lion is considered to be the largest species of lion that ever lived and one of the largest of the cats to have ever existed. Standing 1.2 metres (4 ft) at the shoulder and being 1.6 to 2.5 metres (5 ft 3 in – 8ft 2 in) long it is estimated that the American Lion was around twenty-five percent larger than the modern African lion. It has also been estimated to have weighed over 400 kilograms. Some scientists have classified the American Lion as being related to (or, of the same species as) the Eurasian cave lion (Panthera leo spelaea) being assigned the Trinomial name Panthera leo atria. However, it has also been argued that the American lion is not a lion at all. Rather, it may be more closely related to the tiger and jaguar families which form part of the Pantherinae subspecies.

Though the American lion existed alongside modern man (Homo sapiens), with some bones being found amongst discarded items from Paleolithic American Indian sites, it is known to have died out just after the end of the Pleistocene epoch (approximately 11,000 years ago) and had existed for approximately 1.79 million years. Much is known about the anatomy of the American lion with up to one hundred specimens found in the La Brea Tar Pits alone. It was probably one of the most successful and abundant of the North American megafauna during the Pleistocene age having a range across the western Americas from Alaska to as far as Peru. They not only had a large frame, but a large skull as well. This suggests that the American Lion was an intelligent and social animal which hunted as a group, preying on large animals such as the American bison, mammoths, deer as well as the now extinct North American horse.

There has been recent speculation that the American lion may still exist on the continent. Alongside arguments that it is more closely related to the jaguar than to the African lion some have speculated that the American lion actually had dark or black fur and may be the subject of the many black panther sitings. However, at this stage such evidence belongs in the domain of cryptozoology and has not been recognised by scientific consensus.

The term "American lion" is sometimes also applied to the modern-day species of mountain lion (or, cougar) but should not be confused with the Pleistocene species which is from a different genus. The cougar falls under the Puma genus whereas the Pleistocene era American lion is part of the Panthera.