Research overview: late survival of Homotherium latidens and the North Sea mandible

This overview reviews evidence that the scimitar-toothed cat Homotherium latidens persisted in Europe far later than once believed. A well-known mandible dredged from the floor of the North Sea, dated by radiocarbon to the Late Pleistocene, suggested the genus survived into a period when it had been presumed long extinct on the continent. Combined with ancient DNA results indicating low genetic diversity and a deep split from other lineages, such finds extended the known temporal range of European scimitar cats and prompted reassessment of their decline. The survey discusses the dating and authenticity of these late records, their implications for sabertooth extinction chronology, and how submerged continental-shelf fossils contribute unexpected data to the history of Pleistocene felids.