Britain was once stalked by huge lions, researchers at Oxford University have discovered.
The wild animals were 25 per cent bigger than lions seen today in Africa and hunted in vast prides during the Ice Age.
It was previously thought that only jaguars and tigers roamed the British Isles during this time.
Scientists compared the DNA of super-size lion fossils found in Siberia and Germany with the decomposed remains of prehistoric wild beasts found in Yorkshire, Devon and London.
The DNA matched, proving the larger lions could have been prevalent in Britain as recently as 13,000 years ago.
By comparing their skulls, scientists revealed that British lions would have weighed up to 50 stone (317kg) - the equivalent of a small car - compared to African lions which weigh up to 39 stone (250kg).
Dr Ross Barnett, who led the research at the University's Zoology Department, said: 'These ancient lions were like a super-sized version of today's lions.
'They were up to 25 per cent bigger than those we know today and, in the Americas, with longer legs adapted for endurance running.
'What our genetic evidence shows is that these ancient extinct lions and the lions of today were very closely related.
'Meanwhile, cave art suggests that they formed prides, although the males appear not to have had manes.'
The findings - published this week in science journal Molecular Ecology - suggests the lions existed during the Pleistocene era which occurred in Europe between 1.8 million and 10,000 years ago.
Dr Barnett also found the lions split into two main groups with some living in Europe and Alaska and the other living in North America.
He said the lions found in North America were even bigger than the British ones - evolving with longer legs and wider skulls to increase their hunting power.
Dr Barnett added: 'This unusual distribution is explained by Ice Age geography when a land bridge linked Siberia and Alaska, enabling ancient lions to cross from Eurasia into North America.
'At some point the North American ice sheets would have interrupted this migration route - creating these two genetically distinct groups of animals.'
The British and European lions would have lived in a similar environment to that found in Siberia today and hunted mammoth and giant deer until they all became extinct 13,000 years ago.
Dr Nobby Yamaguchi, co-author of the study, said: 'We still don't know what caused this mass extinction, although it is likely that early humans were involved in one way or another.'
