Co-occurrence of a sabertoothed cat (Homotherium sp.) with a large lion-like cat (Panthera sp.) in the Middle Pleistocene karst infill from nuova «Cava Zanola» (Paitone, Brescia, Lombardy, Northern Italy)

Early in the second half of the 19th century, during excavation of the nuova «Cava Zanola» (Paitone, Brescia, Lombardy, Northern Italy), numerous remains of large mammals were collected from the karst fill deposits. Eight of these specimens are referable to large felids, in particular four may be attributed to the sabertoothed cat Homotherium and two to a primitive form of large lion-like felid (Panthera sp.). The relevance of these remains is related to the fact that they are currently the westernmost finds of Homotherium of Northern Italy and testify the coexistence of these two large felids.