Two forms of lions live on African continentThe scientists said they now believe there are two distinct forms of lions currently living on the African continent, one of which bears a strong resemblance to the now-extinct European lion depicted in cave drawings taking down huge beasts like mammoths.
The Chicago-based museum's researchers have spent years traveling to Africa and studying artifacts in Europe, Africa and North America.
Their conclusion?
They said cave-dwelling lions along the Nile River in Africa differ substantially from pride lions roaming the savannahs. Pride lions, they said, share more similarities with the last remaining Asian lions in India's Gir Forest than those along the Nile.
Curators Thomas Gnoske and Julian Kerbis Peterhans wrote in the July-August edition of the museum's "In The Field" journal pride lions and Asian lions both have thick tail tufts, a thick flap of loose skin on their bellies, pronounced manes and small skulls while Nile lions show "remarkable similarity" to the now-extinct lion-like species that were contemporary with woolly rhinos, mammoths and primitive cattle.
Like the extinct species, Nile lions have restricted manes and belly folds and tend to live in caves.
"The Nile lions share the habit of cave dwelling with this extinct form," Gnoske and Peterhans wrote. "They also share similar body proportions and very large size."
Nile lions, however, are about 25 percent smaller than the earlier species
was believed to have been. But that is not enough to make the researchers change
their conclusion.
"We now believe that our Nile lions and several other described subspecies
are all the same lion and may represent a living lineage of the now extinct
European cave lions," Gnoske and Peterhans wrote.
Nile lions, also known as buffalo lions because of their preferred prey, are
restricted to major rivers and tributaries, while pride lions tend to roam.
Researchers note the two species do not like to intermingle. In fact, aggressive
tendencies toward rivals in the animal kingdom generally prevent Nile lion males
from having any access to female pride lions.
"We are now convinced that there are two socially and physically distinct
forms of lions living in Africa," Gnoske and Peterhans wrote. "One is
the big-headed and relatively small but stout-bodied pride lion that has been
the subject of countless documentaries over the years."
The other type, Gnoske and Peterhans note, is the Nile lion, which lives in
small groups.
"Their much more massive and powerful bodies probably reflect their
specialization on large and dangerous prey.
"We believe that buffalo lions are closer to the ancestral form, having
descended from primitive lions that followed large prey into Africa down the
Nile River," Gnoske and Peterhans wrote."From there, they dispersed
along other major river systems that converge with the Nile River, eventually
dispersing throughout the entire African continent."