First record of the Eurasian jaguar in southern Asia and a review of dental differences between pantherine cats

Abstract

ABSTRACTFelid material from the middle Early Pleistocene Haro River quarry, northern Pakistan, is described. Most of the material is referred to the Eurasian jaguar, Panthera gombaszogensis georgica, representing the first record of the jaguar in southern Asia. A systematic review of dental morphology of all living species of Pantherinae is made to provide a better background for studying the evolution of pantherine cats. A renewed dispersal scenario of the jaguar in Eurasia is provided. Panthera gombaszogensis georgica is suggested to be a distinct subspecies distributed in central, western and southern Asia during the Early Pleistocene, characterized by relatively small body size and slender dentition. The Eurasian jaguar does not possess the derived dental characters of the living jaguar Panthera onca (e.g. weak or no canine vertical groove, robust premolars), and presumably did not specialize on hard‐shelled prey, and therefore should be viewed as a distinct species from the living P. onca. Two additional felids from the Haro River Quarry, the large sabre‐toothed felid? Megantereon sp. and a small undetermined feline, are also reported. The Felidae faunal composition of southern Asia during the Early Pleistocene is generally similar to that of northern Eurasia, and the paleoenvironment is probably slightly more closed.