Remains of Cave Lions, Panthera spelaea Goldfuss, 1810 (Carnivora, Felidae) from the Middle and Late Pleistocene Localities of the South of Western and Central Siberia

A total of 312 bone remains of cave lions from the south of western and central Siberia representing 5 alluvial and 8 cave sites of the Middle and Late Pleistocene fauna of large mammals were studied. At the alluvial localities of the plain part of the south of western Siberia, the remains of the cave lion are the most numerous among the other large predators. They account for an average of 0.65% of all megafauna remains. In the Middle Pleistocene, Panthera spelaea lived in the south of western Siberia and, based on the size of the bones of the postcranial skeleton, were similar in size to the Late Pleistocene lions of Western Europe. In the Late Pleistocene, a relatively small form of P. spelaea lived there, similar in body size to or slightly larger than the East Siberian subspecies P. s. vereshchagini. In terms of the size of the bones of the postcranial skeleton, the Late Pleistocene cave lions of the south of western and central Siberia were smaller (by an average of 5.8%) than P. s. spelaea of the Late Pleistocene of Western Europe. Lionesses were smaller than males by an average of 9.1%. The Altais were shown also to be home to a population of larger cave lions in the Late Pleistocene, similar in tooth size to the Late Pleistocene Western European lions. Remains of the smallest specimens of P. spelaea have been found since the beginning of the Sartanian period (MIS-2). Obviously, on the eve of the final extinction, cave lion populations throughout their distribution range experienced a noticeable decrease in their body size. The main prey of cave lions in the south of western Siberia in the Middle and Late Pleistocene was obviously most widely represented species such as bison and horses. The most recent remains of P. spelaea from this territory are dated 13.3 thousand years ago.