European jaguar
| European jaguar | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temporal occurrence | ||||||||||||
| Early Pleistocene (Upper Villa Franchian ) to Middle Pleistocene | ||||||||||||
| 1.9 million years to 400,000 years | ||||||||||||
| Locations | ||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Panthera gombaszoegensis | ||||||||||||
| ( Kretzoi , 1938) |
The European jaguar , also Eurasian jaguar ( Panthera gombaszoegensis ) was a big cat species that inhabited the European continent during the Pleistocene and was found as far as Central Asia . Sometimes it is (as Panthera onca gombaszoegensis ) regarded as a subspecies of its closest living relative, today's jaguar .
The European jaguar was slightly larger than the recent jaguar, the weight information averages 130 kg, but fluctuates between 90 and 210 kg. In his physique he was otherwise similar to today's relative and was therefore a very robust big cat. In contrast to Pleistocene lions and tigers, it is noticeable for its molar teeth , which are shorter and lower in relation to the lower jaw than in the other two big cats. It is difficult to draw conclusions about the behavior of the animal. Due to its close relationship with the jaguar, it is assumed that it also lived solitary and hunted comparable prey . In addition, the finds from various sites suggest that the big cat was often found in the vicinity of water, as was its recent relative.
One of the earliest records of the European jaguar is found in Olivola in Italy and is about 1.6 million years old, the form is known as Panthera ( onca ) toscana . The finds from Dmanisi in Georgia are even older, over 1.8 million years old. West or Central Asia may also be the region of origin of the European jaguar, from which it immigrated to Europe. This makes it one of the first big cats in Europe and makes it at home much earlier than the much more popular lion species such as the Mosbach lion or the cave lion , whose ancestors only immigrated from Africa later . At around the same time, the jaguar species also entered American soil and developed there via Panthera ( onca ) augusta to its present-day form. Other fossils from the early and middle Pleistocene are known from Germany (Untermaßfeld), Great Britain (Westbury-Sub Mendip), France and Spain ( Atapuerca ) and the Netherlands (Tegelen). In Central Asia, finds were discovered in Tajikistan (Lachuti), which are among the most recent finds, while in the Caucasus region those from Georgia (Akhalkalaki) were still reported. The jaguar shape probably died out 400,000 years ago.
literature
- Alan Turner: The big cats and their fossil relatives. Columbia University Press, New York NY 1997, ISBN 0-231-10229-1 .
- Helmut Hemmer, Ralf-Dietrich Kahlke: Record of the jaguar ( Panthera onca gombaszoegensis ) from the late Lower or early Middle Pleistocene of the Netherlands. Deinsea, Annual of the Natural History Museum Rotterdam 2005.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Helmut Hemmer, Ralf-Dietrich Kahlke and Abesalom K. Veluka: The Jaguar - Panthera onca gombaszoegensis (Kretzoi 1938) (Carnivora: Felidae) in the Lower Pleistocene of Akhalkalaki (South Georgia; Transcaucasia) and its evolutionary and ecological significance. Geobios 34 (4), 2001, pp. 475-486.
- ↑ Hannah J. O'Regan, Alan Turner and David M. Wilkinson: European Quaternary refugia: a factor in large carnivore extinction? Journal of Quaternary Science 17 (8), 2002, pp. 789-795.