An American Lion, in Fossil Form

Wordless Wednesday



The skeleton of an extinct American lion (Panthera atrox) found in the La Brea tar pits, Los Angeles, California. The American lion was one of the largest cats that ever lived, and was larger than the modern African lion. They roamed parts of North America during the Pleistocene epoch  (340,000-11,000 years ago). This specimen is in the George C. Page Museum in Los Angeles.