Panthera youngi

Panthera youngi; Temporal range: Middle Pleistocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Felidae
Genus:	Panthera
Species:	†P. youngi
Binomial name
	†Panthera youngi; (Pei, 1934)
Synonyms
	Felis youngiPei, 1934; Uncia youngi(Pei, 1934);

Last updated January 28, 2026

Panthera youngi is an extinct species of pantherine felid which lived in northeastern China during the Middle Pleistocene. Originally assigned to the genus Felis , the species was described by Chinese paleontologist Pei Wenzhong in 1934 based on fossil remains excavated in the Zhoukoudian Peking Man Site.^[1] It is estimated to have lived about 350,000 years ago in the Pleistocene epoch. It was suggested that it was conspecific with Panthera atrox and P. spelaea due to their extensive similarities. Some dental similarities were also noted with the older P. fossilis , however, Panthera youngi showed more derived features.^[2]^[3] Putative fossils of this species, tiger and leopard have been discovered in Japan, but mitochondrial and nuclear genome analysis indicates that they represent P. spelaea.^[4]

References

1 2 Pei, W. C. (1934). "On the Carnivora from Locality 1 of Choukoutien". Palaeontologica Sinica Series C, Fascicle 1: 1–166.
↑ Harington, C. R. (1969). "Pleistocene remains of the lion-like cat (Panthera atrox) from the Yukon Territory and northern Alaska". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 6 (5): 1277–1288. Bibcode:1969CaJES...6.1277H. doi:10.1139/e69-127.
↑ Sotnikova, M.V.; Foronova, I.V. (2014). "First Asian record of Panthera (Leo) fossilis (Mammalia, Carnivora, Felidae) in the Early Pleistocene of Western Siberia, Russia". Integrative Zoology. 9 (4): 517–530. doi:10.1111/1749-4877.12082. PMID 24382145.
↑ Sun, X.; Peng, L.; Tsutaya, T.; Jiangzuo, Q.; Hasegawa, Y.; Hou, Y.; Han, Y.; Zhuang, Y.; Ramos Madrigal, J.; Taurozzi, A. J.; Mackie, M.; Trochė, G.; Olsen, J. V.; Cappellini, E.; O'Brien, S. J.; Gilbert, M. T. P.; Yamaguchi, N.; Luo, S.-J. (2026). "The Japanese Archipelago sheltered cave lions, not tigers, during the Late Pleistocene". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 123 (6) e2523901123. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2523901123 .

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[Pei-1] 1 2 Pei, W. C. (1934). "On the Carnivora from Locality 1 of Choukoutien". Palaeontologica Sinica Series C, Fascicle 1: 1–166.

[2] Harington, C. R. (1969). "Pleistocene remains of the lion-like cat (Panthera atrox) from the Yukon Territory and northern Alaska". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 6 (5): 1277–1288. Bibcode:1969CaJES...6.1277H. doi:10.1139/e69-127.

[3] Sotnikova, M.V.; Foronova, I.V. (2014). "First Asian record of Panthera (Leo) fossilis (Mammalia, Carnivora, Felidae) in the Early Pleistocene of Western Siberia, Russia". Integrative Zoology. 9 (4): 517–530. doi:10.1111/1749-4877.12082. PMID 24382145.

[4] Sun, X.; Peng, L.; Tsutaya, T.; Jiangzuo, Q.; Hasegawa, Y.; Hou, Y.; Han, Y.; Zhuang, Y.; Ramos Madrigal, J.; Taurozzi, A. J.; Mackie, M.; Trochė, G.; Olsen, J. V.; Cappellini, E.; O'Brien, S. J.; Gilbert, M. T. P.; Yamaguchi, N.; Luo, S.-J. (2026). "The Japanese Archipelago sheltered cave lions, not tigers, during the Late Pleistocene". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 123 (6) e2523901123. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2523901123 .

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