| Panthera shawi | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Feliformia |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Subfamily: | Pantherinae |
| Genus: | Panthera |
| Species: | †P. shawi |
| Binomial name | |
| †Panthera shawi (Broom, 1948) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Panthera shawi is an extinct prehistoriccat, of which a singlecanine tooth wasexcavated inSterkfontein cave inSouth Africa byRobert Broom in the 1940s. It is thought to be one of the oldest knownPantheraspecies in Africa.[1][2]
The original and holotype specimen, a single upper canine tooth from the Bolt's Farm locality, was described by Broom in 1948 as a new species namedFelis shawi in honour of Professor Shaw.[3] Further material assigned to the species was recovered from the Kromdraai A and Swartkraans Member 2 localities.[4][5]
It was later considered a subspeciesPanthera leo asPanthera leo shawi by some authors.[6][7][8]
The few remnants of the massive P. shawi from the Early Pleistocene sites in South Africa that have been examined thus far metrically and morphologically resemble M. leo in the majority of features, but they do not actually represent lions, supporting their original descriptions and defending their own species status.<ref> The bridge between P. leo and P. shawi facilitates the interpretation of modern lion variability. However, its absolute size exceeds that of extant lions and is significantly surpassed by a specimen from the North American Late Pleistocene. <ref>
The canine tooth is about 12 mm (0.47 in) long and considerably larger and thicker at the base than of a modernlion. Thetooth crown measures 31 mm × 24 mm (1.22 in × 0.94 in) at the base and is 67.5 mm (2.66 in) long.[3]
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<ref Hemmer, H. (October 19, 2022). "The identity of the lion, Panthera principialis sp. nov., from the Pliocene Tanzanian site of Laetoli and its significance for molecular dating the pantherine phylogeny, with remarks on Panthera shawi (Broom, 1948), and a revision of Puma incurva (Ewer, 1956), the Early Pleistocene Swartkrans "leopard" (Carnivora, Felidae)". Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments. 103 (2): 465–487. Bibcode:2023PdPe..103..465H. doi:10.1007/s12549-022-00542-2>
