Updated with the following image via Sordes:

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Did the supposedly extinct American Lion (Panthera atrox), a Pleistocene mammal for North America, have manes? It is a question still hotly debated.

Most commentaries too quickly assume atrox were maneless. But one of the greatest wildlife artist seems to even think otherwise.

Panthera atrox is shown above, 25% larger than the modern lion, by natural history illustrator Carl Buell.

F. E. Koby studied prehistoric drawings and sculptures, and found two types of Pleistocene felids represented in Europe, one without manes and one with a mane and tufted tail.

C. A. W. Guggisberg wrote in Simba: Life of the Lion: “Two lions in the Gotto des Trois-Frères, of which one is maned, turn their heads towards the viewer and stare at him with big eyes.”

See Mysterious America for more.

What do you think?