Golly. I thought I had understood that the version of the story with spheres or mirrors came from either Claudian or St Ambrose. But the date of your mosaic is far earlier.
I've just googled 'Patti mosaic Sicily' which produced photos of one from the other site I know of with a mirror trap. Also, the Worcester Hunt mosaic, which has plenty of information online, has tiny cubs but no mirror (I think). Hope you enjoy the tiger hunt! 🐯
"The forests also bear other fierce animals, but they even bear tigers — Hyrcanian ones, to be sure — a savage breed of wild animal so swift that they easily, and typically, track a mounted rider, even one passing at a distance; and they do it not once only but several times..."
They probably have it first from Pliny, in the form of spotted skins [Natural History, 7.7] and then from Solinus, who thought their spots were well-known [Polyhistor, 17.4].
Comments
https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/faeff7fb-f8a7-44b5-95ed-cff9a9ffd198/surfaces/ce56844a-113f-418e-bdd2-b9afe14b6505/#
Aberdeen University Library, Univ. Lib. MS 24 (Aberdeen Bestiary), fol. 8r
Bibliothèque Municipale de Douai, Ms. 711 (De Natura animalium), folio 2r
https://iiif.bl.uk/uv/#?manifest=https://bl.digirati.io/iiif/ark:/81055/vdc_100055965341.0x000001
They probably have it first from Pliny, in the form of spotted skins [Natural History, 7.7] and then from Solinus, who thought their spots were well-known [Polyhistor, 17.4].