European jaguar

• Europe
• West Asia
• Central Asia

The European jaguar, also Eurasian jaguar (Panthera gombaszoegensis ) was a Großkatzenart who inhabited the European continent during the Pleistocene and seemed to Central Asia. Partly it is a subspecies of modern Jaguars, his closest living relatives viewed (as Panthera onca gombaszoegensis ).

The European Jaguar was slightly larger than the recent Jaguar, the weights are on average at 130 kg, but fluctuate 90-210 kg. In his physique but he resembled otherwise today's relatives and was therefore a very robust big cat. In contrast to the Pleistocene lions and tigers, he stands out because of the molars, which are shorter and lower than in the other two big cats in relation to the lower jaw. Conclusions on the behavior of the animal can be difficult drawn. Due to its close relationship with the Jaguar is believed that it also einzelgängerisch lived and made to comparable prey hunting. In addition, the findings of different sites can assume that the big cat was often found near water, as well as its extant relative.

One of the earliest evidence of European jaguar found in Olivola in Italy and is about 1.6 million years old, the form is called Panthera ( onca ) toscana. Even older are the finds from Dmanisi in Georgia with more than 1.8 million years ago. West or Central Asia is possibly the area of ​​origin of European jaguar, from which he immigrated to Europe. He is one of the first big cats in Europe and there much earlier than the much more popular Lions native species such as the Mosbacher lion or cave lion, whose ancestors immigrated later from Africa. At about the same time entered the Jaguarart also American soil and evolved there over Panthera ( onca ) augusta its present form. Other fossils from the early and middle Pleistocene are from Germany ( Untermaßfeld ), United Kingdom ( Westbury -sub Mendip ), France and Spain ( Atapuerca ) and the Netherlands ( Tegelen ) known. In Central Asia finds were discovered in Tajikistan ( Lachuti ) belonging to the most recent findings, while in the Caucasus region, moreover, those from Georgia ( Akhalkalaki ) have been reported. The jaguar form probably died out 400,000 years ago.