Promoters: Jamie A. MacLaren, Leonard Dewaele
Pantherine cats (the “big” cats) represent some of the largest terrestrial hypercarnivores on Earth. Lions, tigers, jaguars, leopards, and snow leopards are all as iconic and charismatic as they are skilled and intimidating, and are invariably among the apex predators in their ecosystems. Pantherines originated around 4.2 million years ago, and by the onset of the Pleistocene epoch (the last Ice Age), pantherine cats had dispersed to every continent except Australia and Antarctica, including members in Europe. The quintessential European pantherine is Panthera gombaszoegensis. Comparisons have been drawn between P. gombaszoegensis and the modern jaguar P. onca based on the morphology of the skull, which is very robust in both taxa. However, recent phylogenetic analyses suggest P. gombaszoegensis is more closely related to tigers (P. tigris) than to jaguars. This project aims to describe post-cranial remains of P. gombaszoegensis found in Belgium (Liège province), and perform quantitative comparative analyses to investigate its locomotor anatomy and (potentially) hunting behaviour in relation to modern pantherine cats (including both tigers and jaguars).
In this project, the student will: (1) undertake regular visits to the Université de Liège Geology Collection which houses the fossils of Panthera gombaszoegensis, and 3D scan the fossil remains; (2) visit extant collections of pantherine cats in Belgium (KBIN) to 3D scan corresponding osteological material from modern species; (3) perform 3D geometric morphometric analyses of select bones from the extinct and extant material, with functionally informative landmarks; (4) assess the post-cranial skeleton of Panthera gombaszoegensis from a functional morphological standpoint, potentially including body mass estimation, biomechanical traits analysis, and intraspecific variation.
Student: the successful student must have an interest in evolution and the relationship between form and function; familiarity with mammalian biology and palaeontology would be beneficial, but not essential. Guidance in all methods will be provided – no prior knowledge is required. Familiarity with the R statistical environment and multivariate statistics will be beneficial, but not essential. Willingness to travel regularly to the Université de Liège during the summer of 2025 to gather fossil data will be essential.