clipped from: news.bbc.co.uk   

Giant hyenas, sabretoothed cats, giraffes and zebras lived side by side in Europe 1.8 million years ago.

The creatures' remains were among a vast fossil hoard unearthed at an ancient hyena den in the Granada region of south-east Spain.

The area appears to have been a crossroads where European animals mixed with species from Africa and Asia.

About 4,000 fossils have been found at the unique site. They also include gazelles, wolves, wild boar and lynx.

Sabretooth jaw (Instituto Geologico y Minero de Espana - IGME)
Gazelle (Instituto Geologico y Minero de Espana - IGME)
"These mammals would have inhabited different ecotomes, but they existed in the same time and place," Guiomar Garrido told BBC News.

Early humans might have been drawn to Europe by the rich diversity of mammals at sites like Fonelas.

Map (BBC)