Scientists find the oldest documented skeleton of an Iberian lynx in Spain

Researchers discovered the skeletal remains of an Iberian lynx in the Quibas site in Abanilla, Murcia, Spain.

The discovery represents the oldest documented skeleton of the species. The Iberian lynx originated when populations of Lynx issiodorensis, a species that lived across Europe during the Pliocene from 5 to 2.5 million years ago, began to differentiate. These changes occurred in the Iberian Peninsula due to intense climate fluctuations at the start of the Pleistocene.

The alternating glacial and interglacial periods caused habitats to fragment and isolated certain populations.