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Only a few months after Ewa Barycka had passed away (for an obituary, see Wolsan 2008), an English translation of her Ph.D. thesis on the fossil record of Middle to Late Pleistocene felids and hyenids from Poland appeared as a book publication. The book consists of five main chapters: Introduction, Material and Methods, Localities, Results and Discussion, and Summary. The record of four taxa of Pleistocene car− nivores is comprehensively described from more than dozen sites, includ− ing the European steppe lion (Panthera spelaea fossilis), European cave lion (P. spelaea spelaea), wild cat (Felis silvestris), and cave hyena (Crocuta crocuta spelaea), supplemented by information on fossil finds of the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx). Descriptions and discussions of finds of lions and cave hyenas represent the greater part of the book, including the first record of the European steppe lion from Poland. Although fossil remains of lions and cave hyenas are known from the Pleistocene since the 18 Century, a question of their exact taxonomic po− sition is one of the most controversal issues relating to Quaternary mam− mals. The analyses of the cave hyena’s DNA suggest a subspecific (Crocuta crocuta spelaea) or specific (C. spelaea) status of these large Pleistocene scavengers (Rohland et al. 2005). Similarly, the lions of the European Quaternary are often believed to be either a form (or forms) of the modern lion (Panthera leo) or separate species (Baryshnikov and Boeskorov 2001), and sporadically they are associated with tiger (Pan− thera tigris). Phylogenetic analyses (Burger et al. 2004) show that DNA sequences of cave lions represent a lineage separated from the modern lions in Africa and Asia, suggesting a sister−group relationship between the cave and modern lions. The latest, more detailed morphological analy− ses of fossil lion skulls (Sotnikova and Nikolskiy 2006) support the late Pleistocene cave lion as a separate species. The taxonomic affinity of mid− dle Pleistocene European lions (Panthera fossilis or P. leo fossilis) re− mains open because of the scarcity of the fossil record. From this view− point, each new publication dealing with fossils of lions or hyenas is im− portant for our knowledge of these extinct animals. Based on analyses from Deszcowa Cave and Wierzchowska Górna Cave, Ewa Barycka at− tributes the middle Pleistocene European lions to a branch of the Panthera spelaea−group, referring to as P. spelaea fossilis. Certain circumstantial evidence on different ecological require− ments of middle and late Pleistocene lions of Europe can also indicate a possible separation of both forms (P. spelaea and P. fossilis) in distinct species. It is outlined within the book in the section on ecology, supple− mented by some remarks on mass and sexual dimorphism, teeth abnor− malities, pathology, phylogeny and geographical range of these largest representatives of the Felidae. Remarks on morphological evolution, phylogeny and palaeoecology are also included in the chapter on re− cords of cave hyenas. A minor part of the book consists of descriptions of fossil finds of the Eurasian lynx and wild cat. These include brief characteristics of their oc− currence in Poland, including morphological evolution, origin and dis− persal of the genus Lynx. A morphometric analysis of wildcat fossils from upper Pleniglacial layers of the Deszczowa Cave and their comparison to modern European wild cat subspecies reveals an intermediate position be− tween Felis silvestris silvestris and F. silvestris tatressia. Notwithstanding a few errors (e.g., the type site for Crocuta crocuta spelaea is Zoolithen Cave, not Mosbach, p. 149; Gombasek site is situated in Slovakia, not Gombaszőg in Romania, p. 201), the book yields impor− tant information on felids and hyenids from Poland. Apart from the exact stratigraphic determination of fossil remains, Ewa Barycka reached many significant results, important minimally within the Central European area. The full detailed morphometric analysis of fossils of Panthera demon− strated the growth of hypercarnivory specialization towards the species P. spelaea, associated with both the elongation of main cusps and the re− duction of anterior accessory cusps in premolars as well as with the elon− gation of the cutting edge in narrowed m1s. The finding of differences in postcranial skeletons (mainly in hind limbs) between forms of P. leo, P. fossilis, and P. spelaea, and rejecting the hypothesis about hybridisa− tion of late Pleistocene cave lions with assumed invasion of African lions are the main assets of Ewa Barycka’s work. Comparisons of evolutionary trends in lower incisors of Polish cave lions, which resulted in both the loss of i3 and the translocation of the remaining incisors one under another in relation with size increase of upper canines, is also novel and important. The confirmation of the cave hyena’s variability in dependence on clima− tic oscillations and migration events is significant together with the rebut− ting of former data on cave hyena populations, specified on the basis of m1 width from British sites for constituent phases of the late Pleistocene. The comparisons of evolutionary changes, leading to an increase of shear− ing function of carnassials, showed also the uniformity of the Polish cave hyena record with the European one. Generally, this book will be a standard reference for Pleistocene car− nivores from Europe, representing a valuable publication for everybody who is seriously interested in faunal history and evolution during the Qua− ternary. With respect to that, Poland lost in Ewa Barycka a promising young paleontologist, whose further research could have yielded new sig− nificant data on large Pleistocene predators of Europe and elsewhere.

acta palaeontologica polonica

Hic Sunt Leones et Hyaenae Ewa Barycka 2008.<i>Middle and Late Pleistocene Felidae and Hyaenidae of Poland</i>. Fauna Poloniae, New Series, volume 2, 228 pp. Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw. ISBN 978-83918040-5-6; Price 48 Euro.

Hic Sunt Leones et Hyaenae Ewa Barycka 2008.Middle and Late Pleistocene Felidae and Hyaenidae of Poland. Fauna Poloniae, New Series, volume 2, 228 pp. Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw. ISBN 978-83918040-5-6; Price 48 Euro.