Mammal
Panthera spelaea
It is known from both fossils and depictions in prehistoric art.
The cave lion left traces in both fossils and prehistoric art.
Three stages. One companion.
Game artwork
AI-generated, stylized game illustrations. These designs and growth stages are imaginative, not scientific reconstructions.
Panthera spelaea at a glance
- Diet
- Carnivore
- It is interpreted as a consumer of other animals. Hunting and scavenging are not mutually exclusive behaviors.
- When it lived
- Quaternary
- Group
- Felidae
- Felids
- Fossil locations
- Eurasia
- Places where fossils have been found
Beyond the game
The real Panthera spelaea
Ancient DNA distinguishes it from the modern lion, though the two were close relatives. Its lineage lived across Eurasia and northwestern North America during the ice ages.
Ancient DNA distinguishes it from the modern lion and helps reveal their relationship. Prehistoric art adds another kind of evidence, which researchers compare with the physical remains.
The cat family includes living species and extinct branches. Saber-shaped teeth also evolved in animals that were not cats: a similar shape does not prove a close relationship.
Fossil discoveries
Selected fossil records · present-day map
Map references
Map: Natural Earth, public domain. Fossil records: linked collections and publications.Sources & text credits
Explore the references behind this profile.
- Panthera spelaea
Wikipedia contributors · Spanish source
Educational text adapted and translated from this article by Wikipedia contributors. The revision link, when captured in the source catalogue, identifies the source version.
- Panthera spelaea
Wikipedia contributors · English source
Educational text adapted and translated from this article by Wikipedia contributors. The revision link, when captured in the source catalogue, identifies the source version.
- Felidae
Wikipedia contributors · English source
Educational text adapted and translated from this article by Wikipedia contributors. The revision link, when captured in the source catalogue, identifies the source version.
- Lions and other Panthera
Wikipedia contributors · English source
Educational text adapted and translated from this article by Wikipedia contributors. The revision link, when captured in the source catalogue, identifies the source version.
Educational text adapted in English from the existing Wikipedia-backed Dinosgacha catalogue and linked articles by Wikipedia contributors.
Existing English translations have been selected and arranged for this encyclopedia. Repeated period and diet text is omitted where those fields already carry it. Unknown facts remain unfilled; unreviewed geological age phrases are omitted and period labels replace numerical ages.
The adapted educational text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0. This text license does not apply to the game illustrations.