The Eurasian fossil record of Panthera spelaea shows a gradual decrease in body size.The process peaking just before the extinction of the species at the end of the Late Pleistocene.The temporal trend of decreasing size particularly accelerating during MIS 2, as exemplified by the extremely small female skull from Kryshtaleva Cave.Some palaeoecological aspects of biab spirited the evolutionary history and eventual extinction of Panthera spelaea are discussed.Special discussion is given on how reducing body size affects potential interactions with other carnivores.
It is also an attempt to answer the question whether, did indeed this trend negatively impact the cave doctor squish refill lion ability to survive.The conclusions were drawn on the basis of correlation with observations of contemporary related forms.