Wanhsien Tiger (Panthera tigris acutidens) is an extinct tiger subspecies, which was scientifically described in 1928 based on fossils excavated near Wanhsien in southern China's Sichuan Province.
The P. t. acutidens fossils from Wanhsien in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History consist of two skulls, a humerus, two metacarpals, a tibia, an astragalus, two calcanea, and five metatarsals, and several parts of jaws.
First it was named as Felis acutidens. After the fossils were re-examined in 1947, they were attributed to Panthera tigris acutidens.
The Wanhsien tiger may be the earliest known extinct tiger subspecies, and populated a huge majority of Asia from the late Pliocene until the middle Pleistocene.
It was same size or larger than Siberian tigers; it grew to sizes of 2.3 m in length, 120 cm in height, and 200 to 350 kg in weight.
Its size and strength likely played a crucial role in its ability to hunt and survive in the challenging environments of the Pleistocene era.
Panthera tigris acutidens is believed to have had unique cranial and dental features that distinguished it from other tiger subspecies.
It is believed that they were driven to extinction in the islands of Indonesia by another tiger subspecies, the Trinil tiger (P. t. trinilensis) and in mainland Asia by yet another subspecies, the South China tiger (P. t. amoyensis).
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