Panthera leo sinhaleyus
{{Short description|Extinct subspecies of carnivoran}}
{{Subspeciesbox
| name =
| image =
| fossil_range = {{geological range|Pleistocene}}
| genus = Panthera
| species = leo
| species_link = Lion
| subspecies = sinhaleyus
| extinct = yes
| authority = Deraniyagala, 1938
}}
Panthera leo sinhaleyus is an extinct prehistoric subspecies of lion, excavated in Sri Lanka. It is believed to have become extinct prior to the arrival of humans {{circa|37,000 years BCE}}.{{cite journal |first1=Kelum |last1=Manamendra-Arachchi |first2=Rohan |last2=Pethiyagoda |first3=Rajith |last3=Dissanayake |first4=Madhava |last4=Meegaskumbura |year=2005 |title=A second extinct big cat from the late Quaternary of Sri Lanka |journal=The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology |volume=Supplement 12 |pages=423–434 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237009731 }}
History and taxonomy
In 1938, the paleontologist Paulus Deraniyagala named a new prehistoric subspecies of lion, Panthera leo sinhaleyus, based on a single left lower carnassial (M1) tooth excavated from deposits in Kuruwita as the holotype and a damaged right lower canine tooth from the same location as a "metatype".{{Cite journal|last1=Deraniyagala |first1=P. E. P. |date=1938 |title=Some fossil animals from Ceylon, Part II |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (Ceylon Branch) |volume=34 |issue=91 |pages=231–239 |jstor=45385414 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/45385414}} It was further described, but named only as Panthera leo, in a 2005 study of felid fossils from the Kuruwita site.