Cave Lion

Cave lions are three extinct subspecies of large carnivorous land mammals in the species Panthera leo, (the lions), in the genus Panthera and a member of the family Felidae.

The subspecies known by this name include:

  • Panthera leo spelaea or P. spelaea, the Eurasian or European cave lion
  • Panthera leo fossilis or P. spelaea fossilis or P. fossilis, the Early Middle Pleistocene European cave lion
  • Panthera leo atrox or P. atrox, the American lion or American cave lion

Famous quotes containing the words cave and/or lion:

    “I was thewed like an Auroch bull,
    And tusked like the great Cave Bear;
    And you, my sweet, from head to feet,
    Were gowned in your glorious hair.”
    —Langdon Smith (1858–1908)

    “It is curious how there seems to be an instinctive disgust in Man for his nearest ancestors and relations. If only Darwin could conscientiously have traced man back to the Elephant or the Lion or the Antelope, how much ridicule and prejudice would have been spared to the doctrine of Evolution.”
    —Havelock Ellis (1859–1939)