Biostratigraphic and palaeoecological implications of new fossil felid material from the Plio-Pleistocene site of Tegelen, the Netherlands

The Plio-Pleistocene site of Tegelen in the Netherlands contains some of the oldest evidence for the presence of the medium-sized pantherine felid of the European Pleistocene, Panthera gombaszoegensis , based on published fragmentary dental specimens. Measurements of these specimens, together with those from other localities, suggest that earlier representatives of the species are small, but one of a small number of previously unstudied specimens from the site now indicates the presence of a larger pantherine individual. Such a size difference could point to the presence of a second species, or suggest that the Tegelen deposits encompass a longer time span than has been supposed. Either of these would have serious implications; the first would increase the complexity of the early Pleistocene carnivore guild, and the second would threaten the status of Tegelen as a type site in the European Pleistocene biostratigraphic scheme. However, consideration of the size range in sexed samples of extant pantherines in conjunction with a re-examination of the size distributions in the hypodigm of P. gombaszoegensis suggests that sexual dimorphism offers a more plausible interpretation.