[9] The first Asian record of a fossilis lion was found in the Kuznetsk Basin in western Siberia and dates to the late Early Pleistocene.

[3] Possibly earlier records of P. fossilis are known from the late Early Pleistocene (over 780,000 years ago) of Western Siberia.

[10][11] The arrival of Panthera (spelaea) fossilis in Europe was part of a faunal turnover event around the Early-Middle Pleistocene transition in which many of the species that characterised the preceeding late Villafranchian became extinct.

In the carnivore guild, this notably included the giant hyena Pachycrocuta and the sabertooth cat Megantereon.

[5] Remains of P. fossilis indicate that it was larger than the modern lion and was among the largest known cats ever, with the largest specimens suggested to have a body length of 2.5–2.9 metres (8.2–9.5 ft), shoulder height of 1.4–1.5 metres (4.6–4.9 ft) and body mass of 400–500 kilograms (880–1,100 lb).

[16] Another notable difference is that the front part of the upper skull surface (the frontal-nasal region) is typically concave, while this is less frequent in Panthera spelaea.

[20][10][15][14][21][22] The only evidence of human interaction with Panthera fossilis is from Gran Dolina, Spain, dating to Marine Isotope Stage 9 (~300,000 years ago), where a specimen of Panthera fossilis displays cut marks thought to be produced archaic humans, who are suggested to have butchered the animal for its flesh.