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Panthera gombaszoegensis

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Panthera gombaszoegensis, also known as the European jaguar, is a Panthera species that lived from about 2.0 to 0.35 million years ago in Europe.[1] The first fossils were excavated in 1938 in Gombasek Cave, Slovakia.[2] Some records were also reported from Africa and Asia.[3] P. gombaszoegensis was a medium-large sized species that formed an important part of the European carnivore guild for a period of over a million years. Many authors have posited that it is the ancestor of the American jaguar (Panthera onca), with some authors considering it the subspecies Panthera onca gombaszoegensis,[4] though the close relationship between the two species has been questioned.[5]

Panthera gombaszoegensis
Temporal range: Early Pleistocene – Middle Pleistocene
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Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Pantherinae
Genus: Panthera
Species:
†P. gombaszoegensis
Binomial name
†Panthera gombaszoegensis
(Kretzoi, 1938)
Synonyms
  • Leo gombaszoegensis Kretzoi, 1938
  • Panthera toscana Schaub, 1949
  • Panthera schreuderi Koenigswald, 1960
  • Jansofelis vaufreyi Bonifay, 1971

Taxonomy

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Leo gombaszoegensis was the scientific name proposed by Miklós Kretzoi in 1938 for teeth found in Tertiary deposits in Gombasek Cave, Slovakia.[2] The spelling of the species name is based on the Hungarian name of Gombasek, Gombaszög. It was reassessed and subordinated to the genus Panthera in 1971. The following are considered to belong to P. gombaszoegensis as well:[6][7][8]

  • Panthera toscana proposed in 1949 for carnassial teeth found in Villafranchian deposits in the Val d'Arno in Italy.[9] These remains were originally described as a distinct species and later as the subspecies Panthera gombaszoegensis toscana.[10][11]
  • Felis (Panthera) schreuderi proposed in 1960 for cat fossils found in Tegelen, the Netherlands.[12]
  • Jansofelis vaufreyi proposed in 1971 for cat fossils found in southeastern France.[13]

Some remains once attributed to P. gombaszoegensis have more recently been identified as Acinonyx pardinensis.[14]

A 2022 study based on a relatively complete skull found in Belgium suggested that P. gombaszoegensis is more closely related to the tiger (Panthera tigris) than the jaguar.[5]

Evolution

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The ancestors of P. gombaszoegensis are thought to have arisen in Africa; a related form of Panthera was present in South Africa 1.9 Ma ago.[11] Another form similar to P. gombaszoegensis has been found dating from early Pleistocene East Africa and had both lion- and tiger-like characteristics.[15] P. gombaszoegensis arrived in Europe around 1.9 million years ago.[3]

P. gombaszoegensis was initially the only European Pantherinae species in the Early Pleistocene, being present alongside the felines Acinonyx pardinensis (sometimes referred to as the "giant cheetah")[14] and Puma pardoides and the machairodontine sabertooth cats Homotherium latidens and Megantereon whitei.[16] Leopards arrived later in the Early Pleistocene[16] or the Middle Pleistocene,[1] and the large lion Panthera fossilis in the Middle Pleistocene.[1] The extinction of P. gombaszoegensis around 330–300,000 years ago has been suggested to have been as a result of competition with lions.[3]

Description

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Skull, Museo di Storia Naturale di Firenze

The European jaguar was larger than the modern-day jaguar.[15][17] With an estimated body weight of 70–210 kg (150–460 lb),[11] it was probably capable of bringing down larger prey. It is thought to have been sexually dimorphic, with significantly larger males than females. While it was often asserted that its body size increased with time, this has been disputed, with other authors finding no evidence of a clear pattern of body size evolution through time.[1]

Distribution and habitat

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Mandible, Natural History Museum Rotterdam

P. gombaszoegensis inhabited Europe[11] and Central Asia.[18] Possible fossils were also found in the Levant,[19] the Arabian Peninsula,[20] and East Africa.[15]

The European jaguar is thought to have lived foremost in forests, but recent work suggests that its association with forest was not as strong as has often been assumed.[21]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Marciszak, A. (2014). "Presence of Panthera gombaszoegensis (Kretzoi, 1938) in the late Middle Pleistocene of Biśnik Cave, Poland, with an overview of Eurasian jaguar size variability". Quaternary International. 326–327: 105–113. Bibcode:2014QuInt.326..105M. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2013.12.029.
  2. ^ a b Kretzoi, M. (1938). "Die Raubtiere von Gombaszög nebst einer Ubersicht der Gesamtfauna" [The predators of Gombaszög together with an overview of the overall fauna] (PDF). Annales historico-naturales Musei nationalis hungarici (in German). 31: 88–157.
  3. ^ a b c Marciszak, A.; Lipecki, G. (2022). "Panthera gombaszoegensis (Kretzoi, 1938) from Poland in the scope of the species evolution". Quaternary International. 633: 36–51. Bibcode:2022QuInt.633...36M. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2021.07.002.
  4. ^ Hemmer, H.; Kahlke, R.-D. (2005). "Nachweis des Jaguars (Panthera onca gombaszoegensis) aus dem späten Unter- oder frühen Mittelpleistozän der Niederlande". Deinsea, Annual of the Natural History Museum Rotterdam: 47–57.
  5. ^ a b Chatar, N.; Michaud, M.; Fischer, V. (2022). "Not a jaguar after all? Phylogenetic affinities and morphology of the Pleistocene felid Panthera gombaszoegensis" (PDF). Papers in Palaeontology. 8 (5). Bibcode:2022PPal....8E1464C. doi:10.1002/spp2.1464. S2CID 252489047.
  6. ^ Hemmer, H. (1971). "Zur Charakterisierung und stratigraphischen Bedeutung von Panthera gombaszoegensis (Kretzoi, 1938)". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Monatshefte. 12: 701–711.
  7. ^ Hemmer, H. (1972). "Zur systematischen Stellung von "Jansofelis vaufreyi" Bonifay, 1971, und "Felis lunellensis" Bonifay, 1971, aus dem Pleistozän Südfrankreichs (Carnivora, Felidae)". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Monatshefte: 215–223.
  8. ^ O'Regan, H.; Turner, A. (2004). "Biostratigraphic & palaeoecological implications of new fossil felid material from the Plio-Pleistocene site of Tegelen, the Netherlands". Palaeontology. 47 (5): 1181–1193. Bibcode:2004Palgy..47.1181O. doi:10.1111/j.0031-0239.2004.00400.x. S2CID 85114506.
  9. ^ Schaub, S. (1949). "Révision de quelques Carnassiers villafranchiens du niveau des Etouaires (Montagne de Perrier, Puy-de-dôme)". Eclogae Geologicae Helvetiae. 42 (2): 492–506.
  10. ^ Turner, A.; Anton, M. (1997). The Big Cats and Their Fossil Relatives: An Illustrated Guide to Their Evolution and Natural History. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231102285.
  11. ^ a b c d Argant, A.; Argant, J. (2011). "The Panthera gombaszogensis story: the contribution of the Château Breccia (Saône-et-Loire, Burgundy, France)". Quaternaire (Hors-serie 4): 247–269.
  12. ^ Von Koenigswald, G. H. R. (1960). "Fossil cats from the Tegelen clay". Publicaties van het Natuurhistorisch Genootschap in Limburg. 12: 19–27.
  13. ^ Bonifay, M. F. (1971). Carnivores Quarternaires du Sud-Est de la France. Nouvelle série C. Vol. 31. Paris: Mémoires du Muséum National d´Histoire Naturelle. p. 377.
  14. ^ a b Cherin, M.; Iurino, D.A.; Zanatta, M.; Fernandez, V.; Paciaroni, A.; Petrillo, C.; Rettori, R.; Sardella, R. (2018). "Synchrotron radiation reveals the identity of the large felid from Monte Argentario (Early Pleistocene, Italy)". Scientific Reports. 8 (1): 8338. Bibcode:2018NatSR...8.8338C. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-26698-6. PMC 5974229. PMID 29844540.
  15. ^ a b c Mol, D.; Van Logchem, W.; De Vos, J. (2011). "New record of the European jaguar, Panthera onca gombaszoegensis (Kretzoi, 1938), from the Plio-Pleistocene of Langenboom (The Netherlands)". Cainozoic Research. 8 (1–2): 35–40.
  16. ^ a b Rodríguez, J.; Mateos, A. (2018). "Carrying capacity, carnivoran richness and hominin survival in Europe". Journal of Human Evolution. 118: 72–88. Bibcode:2018JHumE.118...72R. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.01.004. PMID 29606204.
  17. ^ Seymour, K.L. (1989). "Panthera onca" (PDF). Mammalian Species (340): 1–9. doi:10.2307/3504096. JSTOR 3504096. S2CID 253932256.
  18. ^ Sotnikova, M.V.; Vislobokova, I.A. "Pleistocene mammals from Lakhuti, southern Tajikistan, USSR". Quatärpaläontologie. 8: 237–244.
  19. ^ Martínez-Navarro, B.; Belmaker, M.; Bar-Yosef, O. (2009). "The large carnivores from 'Ubeidiya (early Pleistocene, Israel): biochronological and biogeographical implications". Journal of Human Evolution. 56 (5): 514–524. Bibcode:2009JHumE..56..514M. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2009.02.004. PMID 19427671.
  20. ^ Stimpson, C.M.; Breeze, P.S.; Clark-Balzan, L.; Groucutt, H.S.; Jennings, R.; Parton, A.; Scerri, E.; White, T.S.; Petraglia, M.D. (2015). "Stratified Pleistocene vertebrates with a new record of a jaguar-sized pantherine (Panthera cf. gombaszogensis) from northern Saudi Arabia". Quaternary International. 382: 168–180. Bibcode:2015QuInt.382..168S. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2014.09.049.
  21. ^ O'Regan, H.J.; Turner, A.; Wilkinson, D.M. (2002). "European Quaternary refugia: a factor in large carnivore extinction?" (PDF). Journal of Quaternary Science. 17 (8): 789–795. Bibcode:2002JQS....17..789O. doi:10.1002/jqs.693. S2CID 130275622. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-08-21. Retrieved 2006-07-02.
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