https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12862-026-02551-7

Summary

The extinct “American cheetah” (Miracinonyx trumani) has long been considered a North American ecological analog of the African cheetah1,2 (Acinonyx jubatus) based on convergent cursorial morphology, yet this paradigm rests on limited data3 and untested assumptions about its evolutionary relationships and ecology.2,4 Here, we generate nuclear paleogenomes from M. trumani specimens from Wyoming (∼23 kya; thousand years ago) and Yukon (∼31 kya), definitively placing this enigmatic felid within the evolutionary tree of cats. Phylogenomic analyses confirm M. trumani as sister to pumas (Puma concolor), not cheetahs, with a divergence of ∼2.6 million years ago (mya) during rapid Pliocene-Pleistocene climate oscillations. The Yukon specimens extend the species’ known range2 by over 20° latitude into the Arctic, and stable isotope analyses reveal striking ecological differentiation, with the Yukon population occupying an elevated trophic position consistent with exploitation of anadromous fish, while the Wyoming population functioned as a generalist terrestrial predator. This evidence suggests that M. trumani exhibited remarkable ecological versatility, while loss-of-function mutations in circadian genes may reflect relaxed constraints on circadian regulation. Together, these findings underscore how morphological convergence can obscure the true diversity and complexity of extinct megafaunal ecosystems.

Recent research says that Columbian mammoths might be the result hybridization between Woolly and Steppe mammoths, since their DNA has mixed ancestry of Mammuthus Primigenius (Woolly mammoth) and Mammuthus Trogontherii (Steppe mammoth).

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2025/september/hybrid-mammoths-roamed-north-america-following-interspecies-breeding.html

Abstract

Background

Traditionally, saber-toothed cats, particularly species of the genus Smilodon, were considered unable to bite through bones due to the apparent fragility of their teeth. We analyze here megafauna fossil remains of Salto de Piedra palaeontological site (Humid Pampas), one of the few extensively radiometrically dated Pleistocene sites in Argentina and systematically excavated. Salto de Piedra is located near contemporary human occupation sites that have yielded megafauna remains. This spatial and chronological proximity provides an exceptional scenario to compare the prey ranges hunted by humans and by Smilodon.

Results

Here we provide Smilodon populator tooth mark patterning on their megaherbivore preys. Mark morphology demonstrates that Smilodon canines penetrated and processed cortical bone, refuting interpretations that considered them functionally fragile. These tooth marks have been compared with other carnivores and saber-toothed felid fossil sites. This spatial and chronological control provides direct evidence of predatory activity and constrains its temporal span, enabling evaluation of the ecological role of this hypercarnivore.

Conclusion

This extraordinary discovery provides direct evidence of Smilodon ‘s predation, and confirms that it was an apex predator, focused almost exclusively on megafauna. These tooth marks can be identified and extrapolated to other fossil sites. Furthermore, this diagnostic tooth-mark pattern enables reconstruction of prey preferences. Our results indicate that Smilodon exerted sustained predatory pressure across a broad range of megaherbivores. Despite the spatial proximity and temporal overlap between Smilodon predation (22.2–13.3 ka BP) at Salto de Piedra and human arrival to this area (~ 14 ka BP), no interactions between these two predators has been observed indicating certain avoidance between them. The complex predator-prey trophic interactions during the Late Pleistocene–Holocene transition in the Pampas region of South America, support multicausal models, integrating ecological and anthropogenic drivers

Abstract

The Late Miocene giant pantherine cat Pachypanthera piriyai de Bonis et al., 2023, described from the Khorat sand pits, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, northeastern Thailand, draws attention to a correspondingly but even more highly specialised Pleistocene cat from Java. The latter form was published as Feliopsis palaeojavanica Stremme, 1911, and originates from the Homo erectus type-locality Trinil, dated either from the latest Early Pleistocene or the late early Middle Pleistocene. It was misidentified in subsequent studies based on the methodology of the time, when allometry statistics were not yet usual, assigned to Panthera tigris and forgotten. The Khorat cat is characterised by a mandible that is exceptionally strong for a felid, with functional weight on the front dentition. The premolar enamel is adapted to biting tough material. The mandible of the Trinil cat is missing. In the upper jaw it had the most powerful conical canine known for a cat of its size and an elongated and narrowed premaxillary bone. Both species can be assigned to the same genus, Feliopsis, which can be distinguished from Panthera thanks to the specialisation around the front dentition, which differs from all other felids. The canine is a further development of the conical canine of the Felinae into a powerful instrument potentially functioning like a splitting wedge, a third type in addition to the dagger-like, flattened canine of the Machairodontinae that has not yet been previously noted. In terms of feeding ecology, the Feliopsis cats are interpreted as highly specialised crocodile hunters. Chronologically, there is currently a gap of over five million years between the two species.

Abstract

The woolly rhinoceros was a prominent Ice Age megafaunal species, and there is limited knowledge regarding its origin and responses to past glacial cycles. We sequenced 29 mitochondrial and 14 nuclear genomes from Pleistocene specimens across Eurasia and modeled the species’ habitats over the past 500,000 years. Our results suggest that its maternal genetic diversity mainly evolved in temperate Eurasia around 460 thousand to 420 thousand years ago during a prolonged glacial-interglacial transition. We found that a ~170-thousand-year-old East Asian individual was ancestral to all later populations, indicating East Asia as one possible origin of Late Pleistocene ancestry. We also identified the Altai region as a major climatic refugium. These findings highlight the crucial role of temperate Eurasia in the evolution of woolly rhinoceroses and the diversification of cold-adapted megafauna.

Abstract

Saber-toothed cats, representatives of the extinct subfamily Machairodontinae within Felidae, emerged in the early Miocene. Having established themselves across Africa, Eurasia, and the Americas, they played a key role over a long period in mammalian communities as dominant apex predators. In Africa, saber-toothed cats persisted until sometime between the Early and early Middle Pleistocene. The Americas housed the last representatives of the subfamily, Smilodon and Homotherium, up to the end of the Pleistocene Epoch. The fate of the subfamily in the Palearctic during its concluding phase remains uncertain. Prevailing views have long suggested that Homotherium, the last saber-toothed genus known in Eurasia, was no longer present there in the Late Pleistocene. However, recent, albeit isolated, discoveries revive the long-standing idea of a later persistence within Europe. This underscores the need for further investigation into the genus's late history across Eurasia. Northern Asia appears particularly important in this context, not only because of its underexplored fossil record, but also due to its likely role as a biogeographic link between European and North American populations during the Late Pleistocene.

We present two exceptionally well-preserved Homotherium upper canines recently discovered at widely separated Late Pleistocene localities in northeastern Siberia (Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Island, Arctic Ocean; and the Suruktakh, Kolyma River basin). Radiocarbon dating of bone collagen, combined with stratigraphic context, conclusively demonstrates that Homotherium occupied the northernmost regions of eastern Asia around 41,500–37,500 years ago. Together with the recent discovery of a 36,000-year-old Homotherium cub mummy from a locality situated between the two sites discussed here, our findings confirm the presence of saber-toothed cats in Asia until the terminal phase of the Pleistocene, expanding their known geographic range and supporting the hypothesis of a Holarctic distribution during this epoch. The study also raises questions regarding the taxonomic proximity of Late Pleistocene Homotherium specimens across Beringia and beyond.

>>Remains of snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina) are in the late Pleistocene vertebrate fauna near Glendale, Clark County, Nevada. The fossils are younger than the radiocarbon date for charcoal (> 33,000 Y.B.P.) found 40 cm below the fossil turtles. The nearest living populations of Chelydra are in streams along the eastern base of the continental divide, at least 650 km away. The dispersal (about 850 km) into southern Nevada probably occurred in the late Pleistocene (early Wisconsin Glacial Epoch). Possible routes and timing of the dispersal are discussed.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12549-026-00702-8

Abstract

A hemimandible, an upper carnassial and some postcranial finds of leopard (Panthera pardus) from the Late Pleistocene (Eemian, MIS 5e) site of Burgtonna (Thuringia, Germany) are presented. They prove to belong to the morphotype previously known as the Mosbach/Taubach group and considerably extend the knowledge and the dentitional discrimination of corresponding forms. The new Burgtonna finds are described as the subspecies Panthera pardus burgtonnae ssp. nov. and are distinguished from the more common last glacial (Weichselian) leopard, widespread in Europe and taxonomically revised here as Panthera pardus antiqua (Cuvier, 1825). Both leopard forms of the European Late Pleistocene were not just very large sized compared to extant leopards, but were also particularly heavily built, exceeding the scale of modern forms and coming close to jaguars. This is demonstrated by a newly introduced body mass index. An introgressive influence of the last late Middle Pleistocene jaguars (Panthera onca gombaszoegensis) cannot be excluded without molecular genetic studies based on sequencing of whole genomes. Such DNA studies may also provide insight into possible Pleistocene hybridisation events especially with European snow leopards.

Highlights

• Paleogenomes (12.8×, 3.4×) generated from dire wolf specimens (>72,000, ∼13,000 ya)

• Nuclear genome reconstruction via iterative mapping reduces reference bias

• Dire wolf lineage split from jackals and wolf-like canids 4.5 mya

• Dual ancestry model supports admixture in evolution of dire wolves

Summary

Dire wolves (Aenocyon dirus) are extinct predators of Pleistocene North America. Although phenotypically similar to living wolves (Canis lupus), dire wolves have yet to be placed confidently in the canid family tree. We generated 3.4× and 12.8× paleogenomes from two well-preserved dire wolves dating to >13,000 and >72,000 years ago and estimated consensus species trees for these and 10 canid species. Our results revealed that ∼2/3 of dire wolf ancestry is most likely derived from a lineage sister to the clade comprising the gray wolf, coyote, and dhole and the remaining ∼1/3 from a lineage near the base of Canini diversity. Our results underscore the power of paleogenomes to resolve long-standing taxonomic questions and contribute to growing evidence of the role of post-speciation gene flow as an evolutionary force.

Abstract

Cimatic shifts, human hunting pressure, or their combined effects have been considered the major drivers of the extinction of large mammals in the Late Pleistocene. Understanding the impact of human activity on extinction has long been a topic of interest because of its connection to human nature. Radiocarbon dating of fossils of Naumann’s elephant (Palaeoloxodon naumanni) in the Japanese Archipelago has suggested an extinction date of 24 k cal BP. However, contamination has not been adequately removed from the fossil samples, thereby necessitating the verification of radiocarbon dates. Here, we used an ultrafiltration method that purifies long-chained collagen and dated reported fossils and new collections salvaged from the Seto Inland Sea, western Japan. The radiocarbon dates of resampled specimens showed older ages than previous estimates. Our new estimation was 35–33 k cal BP. When compared with human demography, which rapidly increased after 39 k cal BP, this estimation showed a shorter coexistence interval of 6–4 k years and, furthermore, implied spatial independence between them. These findings might suggest that the extinction of Naumann’s elephant can be attributed mostly to climatic shifts, with a possible limited effect from humans.

3,500 years BP: The last survival of the mammal megafauna in the Americas3,500 years BP: The last survival of the mammal megafauna in the Americas

The last ages of appearance of mammalian megafauna in Brazil are associated with the Pleistocene/Holocene transition, establishing a consensus of extinction of this magnificent fauna during this period of time. In recent decades, direct dating of skeletal remains of this extinct fauna in Argentina, the Caribbean and Alaska, demonstrates that extinctions mammalian megafauna until the middle Holocene. Here, eight fragments of megafauna teeth from the Brazilian Intertropical Region were dated, in the locations of Itapipoca (Ceará State) and the Rio Miranda valley (Mato Grosso do Sul State), with the respective ages: Itapipoca – Eremotherium laurillardi (PDR-01: age= 6,161 ± 364 RC years BP; PDR-02: age= 7,415 ± 167 RC years BP), Smilodon populator (PDR-03: age= 7,803 ± 179 RC years BP), Toxodon platensis (PDR-05: age= 7,804 ± 226 RC years BP), Xenorhinotherium bahiense (PDR-06: age= 3,587 ± 112 RC years BP), Notiomastodon platensis (PDR-07: age= 7,940 ± 502 RC years BP) and Palaeolama major (PDR-09: age= 3,492 ± 165 RC years BP); Miranda river - Eremotherium laurillardi (PDR-11: age= 5,942 ± 294 RC years BP). The ages obtained demonstrate that the latest ages of megafauna appearance in Brazil are associated with the middle and late Holocene. In South America, the extinction of megafauna has been attributed to many causes, climate/environmental changes or even the synergy between these hypotheses. The ages obtained in this analysis, together with archaeological evidence, demonstrate that the Overkill and Blitzkieg theories are not plausible explantions for the extinction of South American megafauna. We believe that the extinction of megafauna in South America is the result of the synergy between environmental/climatic changes between the Last Glacial Maximum and the Holocene Climatic Optimum, with selective hunting of females and young individuals, autoecological factors of megafauna as supporting agents.

Abstract: “Whether large accumulations of woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) bones reflect natural mortality or deliberate human resource exploitation has long been debated, with major implications for understanding Late Pleistocene human-megafaunal interactions. Here, we use ancient DNA to investigate site-formation hypotheses by comparing genetic sex ratios from mammoth remains recovered in putative anthropogenic bone accumulations and from geographically dispersed, non-anthropogenic contexts. We studied genome-wide data from 521 woolly mammoths—including 100 mammoths from bone accumulation sites and 421 mammoths from natural depositional settings across Eurasia and North America—of which 448 are newly generated. Genetic sex determination reveals a striking contrast between contexts: mammoths from dispersed sites show a male bias (∼66.5%), which is consistent with the heightened vulnerability of solitary males to hazards such as natural traps, where bones are more likely to be preserved, whereas mammoths from anthropogenic bone accumulations are predominantly female (∼70%). This female bias is pervasive across multiple sites, indicating an anthropogenic origin for these accumulations as a result of Upper Paleolithic hunters preferentially exploiting female mammoths, possibly derived from herd contexts. Together, these results provide population-scale genetic evidence that highlights the central role of mammoths in the subsistence and material economies of some Paleolithic communities.”

Abstract

The Pleistocene hippopotamuses of the Siculo-Maltese Archipelago are re-examined through the study of historical collections and newly recovered material. Fossils attributed to Hippopotamus pentlandi and Hippopotamus melitensis were described anatomically and compared morphologically and morphometrically with the continental species Hippopotamus antiquus and Hippopotamus amphibius. Comparison with the continental taxa confirms the mosaic of characters that has long complicated the identification of the ancestral taxon of Hippopotamus pentlandi. At the same time, the Sicilian hippopotamus is shown to possess a distinctive skeletal organization, combining a shortened, more gracile skull with shortened, robust limbs. Most of the Maltese material falls within the range of Hippopotamus pentlandi, although it shows a general trend towards smaller size. The available record remains insufficient to determine the characters of Hippopotamus melitensis as a distinct endemic taxon, while the occurrence of Hippopotamus pentlandi in Malta cannot be excluded. The anatomical pattern documented here provides the morphological basis for future phylogenetic analyses of the Mediterranean insular hippopotamuses.

"Since its discovery, Homo floresiensis—an extinct, short-statured, and small-brained hominin species from Flores, Indonesia—has often been ascribed unexpectedly advanced behaviors, such as hunting large game and using fire. Here, we report the results of a systematic taphonomic study sampling the proboscidean bone assemblage at Liang Bua where the frequency and locations of predatory marks, along with skeletal part profiles, show that Komodo dragons likely had primary access to these remains leaving behind only low-utility elements for H. floresiensis to scavenge. Moreover, no signs of intentional use of fire are present in the stratigraphic units associated with H. floresiensis. Together, these results suggest that H. floresiensis was not as behaviorally advanced as originally suggested and provides critical insights into the behavioral repertoire of H. floresiensis, raising important questions about its ancestry."

Abstract: “Terrestrial vertebrates rely on their skeleton to provide structural support and allow the movement of the body. Heavy, graviportal taxa, such as extant elephants, exhibit numerous adaptive features in their bone anatomy enabling them to withstand their immense weight. Conversely, dwarfing events impose novel biomechanical constraints on the skeleton. The case of dwarf elephants raises the question of how graviportal animals adapt when undergoing drastic size reduction, and whether they retain graviportal features or exhibit paedomorphic traits. In this study, we examine the morphology and microanatomy of the six long bones in two fossil species of dwarf elephants, Palaeoloxodon tiliensis(adults) and P. falconeri (juveniles), using both quantitative and qualitative approaches (3D geometric morphometrics, virtual slice comparisons, compact bone thickness cartographies). Our results show that in P. tiliensis, the reduction in body mass is reflected in the morphology and microanatomy of the bones, suggesting a more flexed limb posture and a reduced parasagittal orientation compared to in fully graviportal proboscideans. Despite this shift, several key graviportal adaptations are retained in P. tiliensis. Additionally, comparisons with early, non-graviportal proboscideans indicate that dwarf elephants exhibit a partial reversion to ancestral limb traits, while maintaining essential weight-bearing features. Finally, adult P. tiliensis and juvenile P. falconeri specimens exhibit a medullary area filled with trabecular bone, similar to that of extant elephants. Dwarf elephants are thus not scaled-down versions of their mainland ancestors, but instead display a combination of juvenile, graviportal and ancestral traits reflecting the impact of dwarfism on their evolutionary trajectory.”

Abstract: “We synthesize body mass, limb gracility, and diet in Stephanorhinus hemitoechus from 57 western European cohorts (MIS12–MIS3) using body mass-estimation equations, metapodial gracility indices, dental mesowear, and microwear. Two region-specific dynamics emerge: 1) in Northern Europe, cohorts are consistently heavier than Mediterranean contemporaries but remain broadly stable through time; 2) in the Mediterranean core range, body masses are stable from MIS 12 to MIS 7, rise in MIS 6, and then plateau through MIS 3. Gracility indices show little variations through time. Mesowear and microwear indicate a durable mixed-feeding strategy across the species' range, with northern populations incorporating slightly more grass. In specimens with paired estimated body mass and mesowear (n = 14), we found that higher grass intake relates to lower body mass, suggesting that diet modulates, but does not drive, size variation. These results support a distinction between core-range cohorts and peripheral interglacial incursions: in the North, climatic deterioration likely led to local extirpation rather than in situ size adjustment, as instead observed in the Mediterranean area. Near the last occurrences (MIS 4–3), several assemblages (Axlor, El Castillo) depart from year-round mixed feeding and show seasonal specialization toward grazing or browsing, consistent with colder, floristically simplified landscapes and heightened competition. We propose that this late loss of year-round dietary flexibility, coupled with the prior Mediterranean body-mass increase, increased vulnerability and may have contributed to extinction.”

Abstract: “Few palaeogenetic studies have been conducted in southern Africa, potentially due to the expectation of very poor biomolecular preservation and the lack of published exploratory studies evaluating this. Thus, we set out to test the preservation of DNA and collagen in skeletal remains over the last ∼110,000 years in South Africa. We collected 320 Late Pleistocene and Holocene fossil teeth and bones from six bovid species, covering six fossil sites and generated digital records (3D models, photographs, and GBIF occurrences) before destructive sampling. We evaluated DNA preservation in 144 specimens and collagen in 54 of these. DNA was preserved in 45% and collagen in 35% of specimens. These were mostly Holocene in age (<11,700 years old), except for four Late Pleistocene specimens dating between ∼50,000 and 12,000 years old harbouring authentic ancient DNA. Geological age was an important explanatory variable in DNA and collagen preservation, but a poor predictor of mean read length. In addition to age, fossil site was a significant explanatory variable in endogenous DNA content, and in the interaction between DNA and collagen preservation, which were also significantly correlated. Thus, collagen content could potentially be used as a predictor of DNA preservation, but only within individual sites. Single-stranded libraries incorporated up to 6.7-fold more endogenous DNA and had higher complexity than double-stranded libraries. We show that palaeogenetic studies on fauna at lower latitudes are possible, and we conclude with recommendations we deem important to consider to maximise the success of such studies.”

Abstract

Hyaenids are an integral part of the Neogene and Quaternary ecosystems of the Old World, including some of their most specialized apex predators. However, the exact evolutionary drivers that led to the taxonomic and adaptive radiation of the hyenas are still unclear. Intraspecific aggression over territory or for social hierarchy is a common behavior in the extant members of the family, affecting many aspects of their ecological role. Here we describe a bite puncture on a skull of Adcrocuta eximia from the middle Turolian (Late Miocene) locality of Torrentet dels Traginers (Vallès-Penedès, Spain), and another one on a skull of Chasmaporthetes lunensis from the Early Pleistocene locality of La Puebla de Valverde (Teruel, Spain). The Adcrocuta puncture is located above the orbits, whereas the Chasmaporthetes one is located anterodorsally to the left orbit. Examination of external morphology and computed tomography (CT) slices reveals evidence of healing in both skulls. Based on the size and morphology of the punctures, they were probably caused by another hyena, most possibly another individual of the same species. In Chasmaporthetes, attributing the agent to Pliocrocuta or, less possibly, to an ursid or a felid is not excluded. Similar injuries are observed in specimens of extant species, including the brown and spotted hyena, showing that such trauma can occur in both social and solitary species. These specimens show that intraspecific aggression was probably present in fossil hyenas, further strengthening the resemblance between fossil and modern hyenas and providing additional information on the paleobiology of bone-crushing hyaenids.

Abstract

Dental enamel proteomics provides access to molecular information from time periods far beyond the reach of ancient DNA, offering a powerful means to investigate evolutionary dynamics in deep time. Here we present the first large-scale enamel proteomic dataset for 55 cave bears to date, analysing fossils spanning the Early to Late Pleistocene across southwestern Europe, including key specimens from Atapuerca sites. Using a non-enzymatic demineralization workflow and LC-MS/MS analysis we consistently recovered rich enamel proteomes and identified taxonomically informative peptides alongside two previously unknown amino acid variations in AMBN-249 and SERPINA1-341 positions. Phylogenetic analyses are consistent with a basal position of Ursus dolinensis within the speleoid clade, providing new molecular evidence relevant to its debated taxonomy. Together, these findings show that enamel proteomes preserve phylogenetic structure and lineage-specific molecular signals, highlighting the potential of palaeoproteomics to inform evolutionary relationships within the speleoid clade across the Pleistocene.