American Lion by Moondawg

The American lion (Panthera leo atrox) also known as the North American or American cave lion, is an extinct feline known from fossils.

It was one of the largest subspecies of lion to have ever existed, comparable in size to the Early Middle Pleistocene primitive

cave lion Panthera leo fossilis and was about 25% larger than the modern African lion.

The American lion is an extinct animal which originated in North America and went on to

colonize part of South America as part of the Great American Interchange. The body length

of the American lion is estimated to have been 1.6-2.5 m (5.25-8.20 feet). Thus it was

comparable in size to its close relative, the extinct lion, Panthera leo fossilis, or the

modern species of Siberian tiger, but still smaller than their contemporary competitor for

prey, the Giant short-faced bear, which was the largest carnivoran of their era.

Approximately one hundred specimens of American lions have been recovered from the La Brea

Tar Pits, in Los Angeles, so their body structure is well known. The features and teeth of

the extinct American lion strongly resemble modern lions, but they were considerably larger.

South of Alaska, the American lion first appeared during the Sangamonian (the last

interglacial). After that it was widespread in the Americas from Alaska to Peru, although

it was absent from eastern North America and peninsular Florida. As did many other large

mammals, it went extinct at the end of the Pleistocene, about 10,000 years ago. By then

the American lion was one of the abundant Pleistocene megafauna, a wide variety of very

large mammals who lived during the Pleistocene. Remains are most common in the Yukon and

from the La Brea Tar Pits.