Szabó János szerk.: Fragmenta Mineralogica Et Palaentologica 24-25. 2007. (Budapest, 2007)

42 HAN species Panthera leo as two subspecies: Panthera leo fossilis and Panthera leo spelaea. Only the massive corpus mandibulae of some specimens seems to exceed the frame of P. leo, but it probably can be inserted in the range of intraspecific variability. On the other hand the canines, the I

3

, the premolars and molar (Mi) verify the close relationship with the Recent lion. The separation of Panthera leo fossilis from Panthera leo spelaea is confirmed by the morphology of protoconid of Mi, the development of talonid of Mi, and the presence or absence of the preparastyle on P

4

. The cave lion differs from the Recent lion in the height of corpus mandibulae, the absence of the preparastyle on P

4 and the absolute sizes of the teeth and mandible. The "fossilis" was the first representative of the lions in Eurasia. The oldest specimen is known from 700.000 years old deposits of Isernia in Italy (SALA 1990). From Hungary, it is known from about 350.000 years old layers of D, E. P. Vértesszőlős. According to HEMMER (1974) the lions migrated from Africa to Eurasia during the Middle Pleistocene. This animal could be P. I. fossilis. Its descendant was P. I. spelaea that developed only in Eurasia. The theory, that the P. I. spelaea derived from the P. I. fossilis is neither supported by the present morphological nor the cladistical analysis. Based on the cladogram, P. I. spelaea is more, while P. I. fossilis is less similar to P. leo. (The cave lion stands nearer to the Recent lion in time, namely separated later from the common ancestor. It is possible, that the "fossilis" represents an earl}- migration of lions to Hurope during the Middle Pleistocene, whereas the cave lions came to Eurasia only in the Late Pleistocene, during a next wave. The cave lion separated later from the common ancestor, because it is more similar to the recent lion. The inferable appearance of P. I. spelaea was in the Eemian interglacial (120 ky ago). * * * Acknowledgements — I give my sincere thanks to László KORDOS for his help, and for the possibility to study the vertebrate collecdon stored in the Hungarian Geological Institute. I am indebted to János SZABÓ for the opportunity to carry on my studies in the Geological and Palaeontological Department of the Hungarian Natural History Museum. Many thanks are due to my colleagues, who helped me in preparing this paper, especially to Mihály GASPARIK, Attila VÖRÖS and Erika GÁL. I am grateful to Gábor CSORBA and Barbara HERZIG for their kind help in the Mammal Collection of the Hungarian Natural History Museum, and the Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna, respectively. Lutz Christian MAUL (Senckenberg Research Institute, Research Station of Quaternary Palaeontology, Weimar) critically revised the manuscript, his work is gready acknowledged. References ARGANT, A. (1998): Etude de l'exemplaire de Panthera spelaea (GOLDFUSS, 1810) (Mammalia, Carnivora, Felidae) du gisement Pleistocene moyen recent de la grotte d'Aze (Saône et Loire) — Revista Paleontologica, 7: 449-466. BARVSHNIKOV, G. & BOF.SKORov, G. (2001): The Pleistocene cave lion, Panthera spelaea (Carnivora, Felidae) from Yakutia, Russia. — Cranium, 18(1): 9—24. BONA, F. (2006): Systematic position of a complete lion-like cat skull from the Eemian ossiferous rubble near Zandobbio (Bergamo, North Italy). — Rirista Italiana di Paleontológia e Stratigrafia, 112(1): 157-166. " FARMS, J. S. (1988): HENNIG. Hennig 86 Reference. Version 1.5 — Manuscript. FlCCARELLI, G. & TORRE, D. (1968): Upper Villafranchian panthers of Tuscany. — Palaeontographica Italica, 64: 173-184. FREUDENRF.RG, W. (1914): Die Säugetiere des älteren Quarters von Mtteleuropa. — Geologischen, Paleontologischen Abhandlungen, 16: 455-670. GAÁL, I. (1934): A Gerecse-hegység egyik legérdekesebb barlangcsoportja. (Th

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