Palaeontology

Giant prehistoric lion was as tall as a man

By T.K. Randall
March 26, 2018

Image: Lion in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Credit: Thomas Fuhrmann / CC BY-SA 4.0 (adapted) Unearthed in Natodomeri in northwest Kenya, the partial skull measures almost 15 inches long - an increase of around 20 percent over the skulls of today's lions.

With a height matching that of an adult human, this giant cat would have been truly terrifying.

Researchers believe that the species evolved to hunt the herds of large herbivores that were prevalent across the African continent during the late Middle to Late Pleistocene period."This skull is the first indication of the existence of a population of giant lions in the late Middle and Late Pleistocene of eastern Africa, perhaps occasioned by the presence of greater megafaunal biomass than today," the study authors wrote.

"The skull is remarkable for its very great size, equivalent to the largest cave lions of Pleistocene Eurasia and much larger than any previously known lion from Africa, living or fossil."

Scientists have discovered a giant population of lions used to roam Africa https://t.co/TKdXICfT3s pic.twitter.com/gTft2DAGSg

— Newsweek (@Newsweek) March 26, 2018

Source: Newsweek

Tags: Kenya, Lion