Ngandong tiger

Panthera tigris soloensis
Temporal range: Pleistocene
↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Genus: Panthera
Species: P. tigris
Subspecies: †P. t. soloensis
Trinomial name
Panthera tigris soloensis
Von Koenigswald, 1933

The Ngandong tiger (Panthera tigris soloensis) is an extinct subspecies of tiger which lived in what is now the Sundaland region of Indonesia in the Pleistocene epoch.[1]

Discoveries

Fossils of P. t. soloensis have been found primarily in the village of Ngandong, hence the common name. Only seven fossils are known, making study of the animal difficult.[2]

Description

The few remains of P. t. soloensis known suggest that the animal would have been about the size of a modern-day Bengal tiger. However, other specimens suggest an animal larger than any of the modern tigers in Indonesia. Heltler and Volmer (2007) estimated that a large male could potentially weigh up to 470 kg (1,040 pounds), heavier than the Bengal tiger, one of the largest extant cats.[2][3][4] Although Raúl Valvert (2014) later estimated the head-body length to be between 172 and 233 cm (5.64 and 7.64 ft), while the total length was estimated to be 258–350 cm (8.46–11.48 ft), both taken in straight line. The minimum weight for females was estimated at 143 kg (315 lb), with males weighing up to 368 kg (811 lb), with exceptional specimen weighing up to 400 kg (880 lb).[5]

Paleoecology

In addition to the remains of P. t. soloensis, many other fossils from the same era have been discovered in Ngandong, like the proboscideans Stegodon trigonocephalus and Elephas hysudrindicus, the bovines Bubalus palaeokerabau and Bos paleosondaicus, the extant perissodactyls Tapirus indicus and Rhinoceros sondaicus, and a great variety of cervine species. Homo erectus fossils are also known from the area.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ University of Míchigan (1937): Proceedings, Volume 3 page. 1853.
  2. 1 2 Ronald Tilson, Philip J. Nyhus, ed. (2009). Tigers of the World: The Science, Politics and Conservation of Panthera tigris. Academic Press.
  3. ↑ "Assessing prey competition in fossil carnivore communities — a scenario for prey competition and its evolutionary consequences for tigers in Pleistocene Java". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 257: 67–80. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2007.09.004.
  4. ↑ Paul S Martin (1984). Quaternary Extinctions. The University of Arizona Press. ISBN 0-8165-1100-4.
  5. ↑ Valvert, Raúl (January 15, 2014). "Ngandong Tiger Data Sheet". Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  6. ↑ Sangiran: Man, Culture, and Environment in Pleistocene Time
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