The disappearance of European dirk-toothed cats

Abstract

Saber-toothed cats dominated the latest Pliocene to Early Pleistocene ecosystems in the Old World, potentially competing with early hominins for food resources. However, the Pleistocene fossil records of the medium-sized Megantereon are often fragmented and scarce, leading to contentious debates regarding its evolutionary history. Previously, it was commonly believed that Megantereon became locally extinct in Europe during the Early Pleistocene, albeit without a precise timeline. In this study, we present findings from an unpublished Megantereon neurocranium discovered in the Iberian Vallparadís Section. This discovery is correlated with the Jaramillo magnetostratigraphic subchron (ca. 1.0 Ma; MIS30). Additionally, we propose a connection between the disappearance of European Megantereon and the climatic shifts associated with the ‘Early-Middle Pleistocene Transition’, particularly the increase in aridity and expansion of open landscapes observed during the protracted glacial stage MIS30.