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Appearance of the frozen mummies of fossil cave lion cubs: (a) female Sparta; (b) male Boris. Photos of lion cubs' heads from the side: (c) Sparta; (d) Boris; (e) Sparta mummy as seen from above; (f) dark brown 'brush' of Sparta's tail.
Source publication
A preliminary description is presented of the well-preserved frozen mummies of two cubs of the extinct cave lion Panthera spelaea (finds of 2017–2018, Semyuelyakh River, Yakutia, eastern Siberia, Russia). The fossil lion cubs were found in close proximity, but they do not belong to the same litter, since their radiocarbon ages differ: the female (n...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... lion cub Sparta was lying on the right side (Figure 6a), with its body flattened in a lateral-to-medial direction. The hind limbs (at the level of a distal end of the tibia) and tail appear to have suffered the most pressure as these are the most flattened parts of the body. ...
Context 2
... eyes are closed. The body of the lion cub Boris (Figure 6b) is flattened in a lateral-to-medial direction. The chest and stomach areas appear to have suffered the most pressure as they are the most flattened. ...
Context 3
... primary colour of the lion cubs' hair coat is light brown, grey, or yellowish brown (Figure 6a,b). Interestingly, although Sparta is a similar age to Boris, her fur has more reddish and brown shades, and it is darker and more saturated than Boris's fur. ...
Context 4
... did not find any similar markings on the mummified cave lion cubs. However, a darker fur area is present around the eyes of Sparta (Figure 6c). The guard hair on the muzzle of both cave lion pups has brown tips. ...
Context 5
... guard hair on the muzzle of both cave lion pups has brown tips. There are dark spots on the forehead and above the eyes (Figure 6c). The fur is lighter around the eyes, but brown near the corners of the mouth. ...
Context 6
... fur is lighter around the eyes, but brown near the corners of the mouth. There are dark reddish-brown spots on the backside of Sparta's ear conches, while Boris has black spots on his ear conches (Figure 6d), much similar to the contemporary P. leo. ...
Context 7
... guard hair on the back has black ends, creating a dark blurred line from the head to the tail set ( Figure 6e). ...
Context 8
... tail is well preserved and is a bit lighter than her back. The tip of the tail is dark reddish brown, thus creating a 'brush' on the end (tuft) (Figure 6f). The contemporary P. leo is born without a brush, and it only starts developing when the lion cub is about 5 months old. ...
Context 9
... Yakutian cave lion cubs had a light colouration, which could be considered as an adaptation to life on the northern open plains (covered the most part of a year by ice/snow cover). A darker fur area only appears around the eyes (Figure 6c). The dark colouration of adult European cave lions may be associated with habitation in closed, much more diversified landscapes: from open forests, forest steppes, mountains, and mountain forests to steppic-tundra vegetational settings, where dark colouration helps predators to be less noticeable. ...
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