Lions lived in Japan thousands of years ago: Study

ISTANBUL

Lions once roamed much of Japan tens of thousands of years ago, researchers said, after fossils long thought to be tiger remains were identified as belonging to an extinct species of lion.

A study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that DNA and protein analysis of fossils previously attributed to tigers showed they were from cave lions, Kyodo News reported Sunday.

Scientists collected organic material from 26 subfossils across Japan. By comparing mitochondrial and nuclear DNA and proteins from five samples with global data, they determined that all belonged to cave lions.

“Our findings challenge the long-held view that tigers once took refuge in Japan, showing instead that cave lions were widespread in northeast Asia during this period,” researchers from institutions including the Graduate University for Advanced Studies and Peking University said.

Lions left Africa about 1 million years ago and spread across Eurasia, reaching Japan between 73,000 and 38,000 years ago, when lower sea levels connected the archipelago to the continent.

Fossil evidence from Yamaguchi prefecture suggests they reached western Japan. Humans arrived around 40,000 to 35,000 years ago, and cave lions likely went extinct about 10,000 years ago.

“The findings are significant in terms of studying interaction between lions and tigers and their influence on ecosystems,” said Takumi Tsutaya, an assistant professor at the Graduate University for Advanced Studies.

Large feline fossils have been discovered across Japan, from Aomori Prefecture to Oita Prefecture, and were long assumed to be tiger remains because of the country’s warm, humid climate.

ISTANBUL

Lions once roamed much of Japan tens of thousands of years ago, researchers said, after fossils long thought to be tiger remains were identified as belonging to an extinct species of lion.

Lions left Africa about 1 million years ago and spread across Eurasia, reaching Japan between 73,000 and 38,000 years ago, when lower sea levels connected the archipelago to the continent.

Fossil evidence from Yamaguchi prefecture suggests they reached western Japan. Humans arrived around 40,000 to 35,000 years ago, and cave lions likely went extinct about 10,000 years ago.

Large feline fossils have been discovered across Japan, from Aomori Prefecture to Oita Prefecture, and were long assumed to be tiger remains because of the country’s warm, humid climate.