Panthera leo sinhaleyus is an extinct prehistoric subspecies of lion, excavated in Sri Lanka. It is believed to have become extinct prior to the arrival of humans c. 37,000 years BCE.[1]
| Panthera leo sinhaleyus Temporal range:
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|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Feliformia |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Subfamily: | Pantherinae |
| Genus: | Panthera |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | †P. l. sinhaleyus
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| Trinomial name | |
| †Panthera leo sinhaleyus Deraniyagala, 1938
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History and taxonomy
editIn 1938, the paleontologist Paulus Deraniyagala named a new prehistoric subspecies of lion, Panthera leo sinhaleyus, based on a single left lower carnassial (M1) tooth excavated from deposits in Kuruwita as the holotype and a damaged right lower canine tooth from the same location as a "metatype".[2] It was further described, but named only as Panthera leo, in a 2005 study of felid fossils from the Kuruwita site.[1]
Description
editDeraniyagala called the holotype "narrower and more elongate" but otherwise provided little information on what distinguished P. l. sinhaleyus from other lion subspecies, and distinguished it only from the teeth of tigers by its larger size. The 2005 study also described it in more detail.[1]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Manamendra-Arachchi, Kelum; Pethiyagoda, Rohan; Dissanayake, Rajith; Meegaskumbura, Madhava (2005). "A second extinct big cat from the late Quaternary of Sri Lanka". The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. Supplement 12: 423–434.
- ^ Deraniyagala, P. E. P. (1938). "Some fossil animals from Ceylon, Part II". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (Ceylon Branch). 34 (91): 231–239. JSTOR 45385414.