Were there ancient lion species in Aomori Prefecture? Shocking research findings were published in January 2026!

"The fossil tigers found in Japan were actually lions."

In January 2026, a groundbreaking research finding was announced

Moreover, fossils discovered at Shiriyazaki (Higashidori Village) on the Shimokita Peninsula in Aomori Prefecture contributed to this research

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DNA from fossils of large feline animals discovered at Shiriyazaki and other locations matches that of lions

Until now, fossils of large felines discovered throughout Japan were called lions, tigers, leopards, etc., but the prevailing theory was that they had become extinct in Japan at the end of the Paleolithic period

On January 26, 2026(New York time), an international collaborative research team from Japan's Graduate University for Advanced Studies, China, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Hungary, and the United States published a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, one of the world's most prestigious academic journals, that overturns previously established theories.

This is the claim that "Japanese fossil tigers were actually lions."

In this study, we collected 26 fossils from all over Japan that were previously thought to be tiger fossils, and examined in detail five fossils excavated from three relatively well-preserved locations (Shiriyazaki in Aomori Prefecture, Hamamatsu City in Shizuoka Prefecture, and Mine City in Yamaguchi Prefecture)

As a result, the sequences of ancient DNA and proteins extracted from the fossils matched those of lions (cave lions) that lived in northern Eurasia and northern America during the Paleolithic period

At the very least, it has been proven that "there were lions in Shiriyazaki, Hamamatsu City, and Mine City."

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Lions also inhabited the Eurasian and North American continents during the Paleolithic period

Tigers and lions belong to the genus Panthera within the family Felidae, and are believed to have existed for approximately 2.6 million years

Currently, the species known as tigers include the Bengal tiger, Amur tiger (Siberian tiger), and Sumatran tiger, but their habitats are limited to the eastern region of the Asian continent, including India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Thailand, Malaysia (all Bengal tigers), Russia (Amur tigers), and Indonesia (Sumatran tigers)

While their populations numbered around 100,000 at the beginning of the 20th century, it is estimated that currently there are only a little over 3,400 Bengal tigers, about 360 Amur tigers, and fewer than 250 Sumatran tigers. (Population figures are from the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) 2026 edition.)

Lions, on the other hand, are found only in limited areas of Africa (African lions/estimated population of approximately 20,000 to 25,000) and India (Asian lions/population of 891). (Asian lion population figures are based on the 16th Asian Lion Census 2025)

In the Paleolithic era, tigers and lions were found in very large numbers

Tigers were mainly found in southern Asia, while lions migrated from Africa to Eurasia, expanding their range from the north to Alaska and the northern Americas

It is said that there were three types of lions: the modern lion (Panthera leo) lived in Africa and the Middle East, the cave lion (Panthera spelaea) lived in northern Eurasia, and the American lion lived in northern America

However, cave lions and American lions became extinct around 13,000 years ago

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During the Ice Age, the Japanese archipelago was located at the eastern edge of the cave lion's habitat

Lions are now one of the most heat-tolerant animals, living only in the hottest parts of Central Africa and India. However, groups that migrated north during the Ice Age seem to have chosen to live in the northernmost regions of the Earth and evolved to be extremely resistant to cold

In Japan, Amur tigers inhabited the neighboring Korean Peninsula and China until the 1920s, and Paleolithic fossils have been found there. Therefore, it was thought that the fossils of large feline animals unearthed throughout Japan belonged to "tigers" that had migrated via the Korean Peninsula

However, although their habitats are now more than 300 km apart and do not overlap, recent research has revealed that during the Ice Age, cave lions, which inhabit the north, and tigers, which inhabit the south, repeatedly competed for habitat (lion-tiger transition zone), and Japan was located at the eastern edge of this zone

In addition, the fact that cave lion fossils had been previously discovered near Nakhodka in the Russian Far East was a key factor in this major discovery

To answer this question, an international research team from the United States, including the Graduate University for Advanced Studies,[analysis techniques for ancient DNA and ancient proteins] that, and arrived at the conclusion that cave lions also inhabited Japan.

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Cave lions hunting in groups

cave lionswere widely distributed across northern Eurasia, from Europe to Asia, spanning from east to west.

It is believed that people migrated to Japan from the Eurasian continent by some means, probably between 73,000 and 38,000 years ago

While cave lion fossils unearthed in Eurasia and elsewhere have generally been larger than modern lions, the fossil recently discovered in Japan appears to be the smallest cave lion in the world. It is believed to have lived on grasslands during relatively warmer periods and hunted in groups, similar to modern lions

They had long fur and either no or short manes, and it is believed that they spent the coldest periods and birthing seasons in caves, as their name suggests. However, how they survived the coldest periods when food was scarce and how they adapted to the environment remains unknown

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The carcass of a cave lion, preserved almost perfectly frozen, has been found in the Siberian permafrost

In Siberia, two cave lion cubs from the Ice Age have been discovered in the permafrost, still bearing their whiskers

One of the animals, "Sparta," was discovered in 2017 and was buried in permafrost approximately 28,000 years ago

Furthermore, the second cub, "Boris," found in 2018 just 15 meters away from Sparta, was found to be approximately 43,000 years old according to radiocarbon dating

Although it is still only one or two months old, this discovery suggests that more will be learned about the ecology of cave lions in the future. (CNN News, "Cave lion cub from the Ice Age discovered in Siberia, complete with whiskers," August 6, 2021)

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Shiriyazaki is a treasure trove of material for studying Japan's Paleolithic period, with numerous unearthed artifacts such as animals and stone tools

The Tsugaru Strait, with a depth of over 140 meters, lies between Aomori Prefecture and Hokkaido, cutting off communication between animals

This phenomenon , known as the Blakiston Line , refers to the stark difference in fauna (animal species) across the Tsugaru Strait , with Asiatic black bears found on the Honshu side and brown bears on the Hokkaido side . It is also said that during the extremely cold period known as the last glacial period, the water surface froze, forming an ice bridge

Therefore, animals seeking warmer climates migrated from the Eurasian continent to Honshu via Sakhalin and Hokkaido

Cape Shiriya also serves as a gateway for animals, and it can be inferred that cave lions, along with brown bears, crossed over there

If that were all there was to it, the Tsugaru Peninsula and Shimokita Peninsula would simply be transit points for animals heading south, but limestone was exposed at Cape Shiriya

The limestone layers have many cracks and holes on the surface, and it is thought that animals often fell into them. Many fossils at Shiriyazaki have been discovered in these grooves

Furthermore, Shiriyazaki is one of Japan's leading producers of industrial limestone, and large-scale quarries are in operation there

Fossils of various creatures that lived there at the time have been unearthed from excavated materials and from inside the mine shafts, including large mammals such as Naumann's elephants and brown bears, small and medium-sized mammals such as wolves, foxes and mice, marine mammals such as dolphins and sea lions, and snails

Shiriyazaki is truly a treasure trove of fossils

The fossil identified this time as a cave lion was also part of the Shiriyazaki fossil group

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