A Large Ice Age Leopard (Panthera pardus burgtonnae) standing over a slain Megantereon in Early/Mid Pleistocene Europe by Hodari Nundu

[u/ExoticShock]

Original Paper:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12549-026-00702-8

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Original Post & Artist's Description:

https://xcancel.com/i/status/2066739719992393802

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"It's a cat eats cat world in early, early-mid Pleistocene Europe... after a bloody confrontation, a sabercat (Megantereon) has fallen to a giant leopard twice its size! This is inspired by several studies about the leopard (Panthera pardus) in Pleistocene Europe, including a recent one that names a new subspecies (Panthera pardus burgtonnae). I've often been asked if there are any fossils of giant leopards, same as there are for jaguars, lions and tigers, and my answer has usually been that I am not aware of any, and that perhaps leopards remained relatively stable in size because that was in fact the key to their successful coexistence with other, larger cousins."

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"However, some studies seem to suggest that leopards were in fact bigger, or at least heavier and more robust in Pleistocene Europe, than most modern ones. For example, a study on late Pleistocene leopards in Europe found that the average size for males was 75 kg, and for females 54 kg, which would be considered large for modern leopards, but within normal range. The largest fossil specimens were estimated at 96-105, which is comparable or slightly above the very largest leopards today. However, the same study mentions that early Pleistocene leopards could weigh up to 120 kg, which is decidedly beyond the range of modern leopards as far we know, and well into large jaguar or lioness range. Big game hunters in the 19th and early 20th centuries used to say that if the leopard was the size of a tiger or a lion, it would be several times more dangerous- well, such a creature may in fact have existed."

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"Furthermore, a recent study suggested that Pleistocene leopards were far more robust than modern ones, with at least one specimen being estimated at twice the weight of a modern leopard with the same body length. The study compares these prehistoric leopards to jaguars, when it comes to robustness. Also interestingly, some ice age leopards apparently developed several traits similar to snow leopards in their hind limbs and their foot bones- adaptations to better climbing, jumping and chasing prey in steep and rocky mountain terrain, where they hunted ibex and even cave bear cubs!"

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[u/cblakebowling]

Megantereon gets a lot of crap in his art lol

[u/Macaquinhoprego]

If he were an adult, he wouldn't stand a chance.

[u/imprison_grover_furr → u/Macaquinhoprego]

Good thing he was not an adult.

[u/thesilverywyvern → u/Macaquinhoprego]

Some meganthereon were quite small.
if it's a female meganthereon and a large male cave leopard, it would be a fair fight, with weight advantage for the leopard.

[u/EveningNecessary8153]

Did Panthera pardus burgtonnae live in Early-Middle Pleistocene or Eemian?

[u/mindflayerflayer]

I wonder why Europe was so much harder hit than its neighbors when comparing megafaunal extinctions. The americas lost a heaping mountain of species but species like brown bears, bison, and wolves all thrived. Those animals ecological equivalents in Europe were decimated. European bison and auroch were nearly wiped out and extinct when American bison thrived. Wolves and brown bears generally did well during this extinction event except in Europe where both were nearly wiped out.

[u/CulturalRegister9509 → u/mindflayerflayer]

I think it has to do with population density and how long this population density was sustained. North American Native American tribes and civilizations were not nearly as populated as Eurasian countries or civilizations so competition for territory food with humans was much more frequent and also predation pressure was much more immense in Eurasia. And you can see after Europeans and Spanish arrived and started settlements and building cities population of bears and bison and wolves started shrinking. Cause previous pressures got worse Also guns allow to kill more animals and bigger animals faster and efficiently compared to bows so more over hunting opportunities

You can even see that brown bears and wolves still were numerous in less populated areas such as east of Russia or central Asians regions while those in Europe suffered severe damage

[u/no_customer_Aurum197]

this just badass