Panthera leo ( Linnaeus, 1758 ) (Lion)

O’Regan, Hannah J. & Steininger, Christine, 2017, Felidae from Cooper’s Cave, South Africa (Mammalia: Carnivora), Geodiversitas 39 (2), pp. 315-332 : 325

Panthera leo ( Linnaeus, 1758) (Lion)

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Postcranial: CD 10783 a right 1 st Metacarpal; CD 3879 and CD 10814 both 1 st phalanges.

DIAGNOSIS AND DISCUSSION

CD 10783 is a very large 1 st metacarpal. Illustrations of Dinofelis piveteaui ( Werdelin & Lewis 2001: fig. 19G) and Homotherium ( Ballesio 1963) show that the facet for the 2nd metacarpal is medially placed in these machairodonts while in CD 10783 and the pantherines it covers much of the proximal surface. In the three lion MC1s available for comparison, it closely matches AZ 771, except that the fossil is from a larger animal (total length = 44.3 mm, distal breadth 18.3 mm), although it differs from BPIc186 and AZ 421 (also lions). CD 3879 is slightly damaged proximally and CD 10814 is complete. They are both from large, lion-sized felids, although the depressions on the medial and lateral sides of the distal articulation are much deeper than those seen in the modern lion. They are considerably larger than the phalanges identified as Dinofelis from Kromdraai B (KB 6036, KB 6037, KB 6038) and do not appear to be Homotherium ( Ballesio 1963) . These specimens are all referred to Panthera leo , but note comments below regarding large pantherines in Africa.