Eastern Europe, Russia, Southwestern Siberia, Pleistocene Epoch (Ice Age), ca. 370,000 to 10,000 years ago. A fossilized jawbone from a carnivore of the Ice Age, the Eurasian or Beringian cave lion, Panthera spelaea! This is a near perfect lower right jawbone with an intact canine tooth; original with no repairs! The canine and molars show some wear, either from the lion's lifetime of hunting and eating large prey, or from the fossilization process over thousands of years. This is such an amazing and complete piece for such a rare species and has a beautiful brown and caramel colorization. These were the smallest of prehistoric ice age lions, likely due to the cold and harsh climates they inhabited but were still quite large as exemplified by this bone! They were thought to inhabit Europe, Russia, and northern Alaska and the Yukon after they came over the Bering Strait. A lion fossil is the crown jewel of any Ice Age collection! Size: 9.75" L x 5" W (24.8 cm x 12.7 cm); canine tooth: 1.5" L (3.8 cm); from tip to jawbone: 4.5" L (11.4 cm)

To label fossils of the Siberian cave lions as "RARE" is an understatement, to say the least. Their fossilized remains are infinitely scarcer than the most famous large prehistoric cat fossils of the Americas - Smilodon fatalis - which continue to fetch world-record prices in the public market. The absence of Eurasian Ice Age mega-predator fossils in the market underscores their extreme value compared to more prevalent Smilodon material.

Recent scientific studies reveal a fascinating and brutal former world that existed in the last Ice Age of Europe where Cave Hyenas and Cave Lions hunted and fed on each other as well as Cave Bears and even humans such as Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons. The European Cave Lion (Panthera leo spelaea) first appeared in Europe around 500,000 years ago and lived up to the near close of the last European Ice Age. They coexisted with primitive humans such as Neanderthals and Cro-Magnon man and prehistoric European cave paintings have been found depicting these beasts as well as Paleolithic ivory carvings and clay figures. Artifact evidence suggests these animals were worshipped and on rare occasion, hunted by prehistoric man.

Provenance: private Rome, Georgia, USA collection

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#167090

100% original material without any repairs. Canine tooth is slightly loose but secure. Losses to canine tip and molars as shown. Clear protective coating added to surface to preserve the bone. Natural ossification and stable fissures from fossilization. Exceedingly rare!