Lions inhabited parts of Europe during and after the
Holocene and even historic times and formed a subspecies called
Panthera leo europaea. They lived in
ancient Greece, central Germany, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Iran, southern Russia, coastal Saudi Arabia, western Asia, and India. It is also suggested by historical evidence, although not certain, that they lived in parts of
Europe, including modern-day Portugal, Spain, southern France, up to Germany, Italy, and the
Balkans beyond Greece. Their diet included cattle, deer and other herbivores. European lions could possibly have been the last remnants of the
cave lion (
Panthera leo spelaea). However, this is considered unlikely because historic depictions of European lions show animals with prominent manes, whereas cave lions are always depicted maneless in prehistoric cave art. It is therefore assumed that modern maned lions spread during the Holocene from Africa to Eurasia. It is not clear if the modern lion replaced the cave lion or occupied Europe after the cave lions already had vanished.
[1]
European lions are considered to be similar to the
Asiatic lion (
Panthera leo persica). However, there were also some differences; lions from southeastern Europe and Asia minor usually lacked abdominal and lateral manes.
[2] In contrast Asiatic lion males show abdominal manes when living in realtively cool climate. This can be seen in Indian lions at European zoos or ancient depictions of lions from
Persia.
The European lion was similar in size to the
African lion, standing about 4 feet (1.2 m) at the shoulder. Males ranged in weight between 180 kilograms (400 lb) and 200 kilograms (440 lb),
[3] while females were smaller.
