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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 by some authors.[5]
| Panthera gombaszoegensis Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
_Panthera_onca_gombaszoegensis.png) | |
Scientific 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 | |
| |
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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]
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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]
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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]
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P. gombaszoegensis inhabited Europe[11] and Central Asia.[18] Possible fossils were also found in the Levant,[19] the Arabian Peninsula,[20] East Africa,[15] and Southeast Asia.[21]
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.[22]
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Panthera gombaszoegensis is thought to have probably been a solitary hunter.[23] Isotopic analysis of the ecosystem of Venta Micena in southern Spain, dating to the Early Pleistocene, suggests that at this locality the prey of P. gombaszoegensis predominantly included the giant deer Praemegaceros verticornis, as well as the smaller deer Metacervocerus rhenanus.[23][24] These prey are suggestive that P. gombaszoegensis inhabited forest at this locality.[23] Analysis of specimens from Punta Lucero in northern Spain, dating to the early Middle Pleistocene, suggest at this locality at this locality Panthera gombaszoegensis was an apex predator that consumed large prey, with prey consumed likely including aurochs, bison, red deer, and/or the giant deer Praemegaceros.[25]
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