The findings about the evolution and adaptations of the snow leopard lineage during the last ice age, published in 'Science Advances', have significant implications for the conservation of this lineage, according to the researchers, represented in Portugal by the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the New University of Lisbon.

The snow leopard is an elusive feline with reserved habits and, until now, it was believed to be the only one that lives exclusively at high altitudes, in the mountains of Central Asia.

But the study of the partial skeleton of the snow leopard discovered in 2000 in Porto de Mós, which includes a skull and is known as the 'Algar da Manga Larga Leopard', challenges long-held assumptions about the habitat preferences of this feline. .

The study argues that snow leopards prefer steep, rocky terrain and cold climates, without necessarily needing high altitudes.

While common leopards evolved to hunt fast, agile prey in partially forested habitats, snow leopards have developed distinct features for taking down robust prey like mountain goats, including larger molars, domed skulls, and stronger jaws and paws.

Their survival in rocky, barren terrain also depended on other key adaptations: enhanced binocular vision, a large ectotympanic skull structure for better hearing, powerful limbs to withstand the impact of jumping between rocks, and a long tail for balance.

These adaptations developed rapidly during the Quaternary, particularly from the middle Pleistocene onwards (82,800 to 355,000 years ago on the geologic time scale).

Future research will explore the neuroanatomy and paleoecology of the Manga Larga leopard, according to NOVA FCT.

“It was a real surprise to find a member of this felid lineage in the Pleistocene of Portugal,” said Darío Estraviz-López, a PhD student in Geology at NOVA FCT who is part of the research team, adding that this discovery was only possible thanks to great contextualization with other materials from China.

The snow leopard was classified as a “vulnerable” species in 2017, after having been classified as an endangered species since 1972.