Proailurus is an extinct felid genus that lived in Europe and Asia approximately 30.8-25 million years ago in the Late Oligocene and Miocene. Fossils have been found in Mongolia, Germany, and Spain.
Pseudaelurus is a prehistoric cat that lived in Europe, Asia and North America in the Miocene between approximately twenty and eight million years ago. It is considered to be a paraphyletic grade ancestral to living felines and pantherines as well as the extinct machairodonts (saber-tooths), and is a successor to Proailurus. It originated from Eurasia and was the first cat to reach North America, when it entered the continent at about 18.5 Ma ending a 'cat-gap' of 7 million years. The slender proportions of the animal, together with its short, viverrid-like legs, suggest that it may have been an agile climber of trees.
Miacidae is a former paraphyletic family of extinct primitive placental mammals that lived in North America, Europe and Asia during the Paleocene and Eocene epochs, about 65–33.9 million years ago. These mammals were basal to order Carnivora, the crown-group within the Carnivoraformes.
Pachycrocuta is an extinct genus of prehistoric hyenas. The largest and most well-researched species is Pachycrocuta brevirostris, colloquially known as the giant short-faced hyena as it stood about 90–100 cm (35–39 in) at the shoulder and it is estimated to have averaged 110 kg (240 lb) in weight, approaching the size of a lioness, making it the largest known hyena. Pachycrocuta first appeared during the late Miocene. By 800,000 years ago, it became locally extinct in Europe and became completely extinct during the middle Pleistocene, 400,000 years ago.
Panthera gombaszoegensis, also known as the European jaguar, is a Panthera species that lived from about 2.0 to 0.35 million years ago in Europe. The first fossils were excavated in 1938 in Gombasek, Slovakia.
Strigogyps is an extinct genus of prehistoric bird from the Middle Eocene to Early Oligocene of France and Germany. It was probably around the size of a large chicken or a guan, weighing not quite 1 kilogram (2.2 lb). Apparently, as indicated by the ratio of lengths of wing to leg bones, S. sapea was flightless. Its legs were not adapted to running, so it seems to have had a walking lifestyle similar to trumpeters. Unlike other Cariamiformes, which appear to have been mostly carnivorous, Strigogyps specimens suggest a herbivorous diet.
Necromanis is an extinct genus of pangolin from superfamily Manoidea. It lived from the middle Oligocene to middle Miocene in Europe. It was originally placed within family Manidae, but was eventually removed from it as more fossil pholidotids from outside that family were found and studied more extensively. Currently, Necromanis is placed as incertae sedis within the pholidotid superfamily Manoidea, together with the families Manidae and Patriomanidae.
Quercypsitta is a genus of prehistoric bird from the Late Eocene Quercy phosphorites in France.
Protictitherium is an extinct genus of hyaena that lived across Europe and Asia during the Middle and Late Miocene, it is often considered to be the first hyaena since it contains some of the oldest fossils of the family. They were especially prolific in Turkey, where every species has been registered.
Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because humans have encountered fossils for millennia, paleontology has a long history both before and after becoming formalized as a science. This article records significant discoveries and events related to paleontology that occurred or were published in the year 1992.
Paramiacis is an extinct genus of placental mammals from clade Carnivoraformes, that lived in Europe from middle to late Eocene. Species P. exilis and P. teilhardi were long believed to be a same species, with differences that were only represented as an example of sexual dimorphism.
The Pyxicephalidae are a family of frogs currently found in sub-Saharan Africa. However, in the Eocene, the taxon Thaumastosaurus lived in Europe.
Pyrenasaurus is an extinct genus of lizard that includes only one species, the type species Pyrenasaurus evansae, which lived around the Pyrenees mountains during the Late Eocene. P. evansae was named in 2014 on the basis of three dentaries, one from the Phosphorites du Quercy in Quercy, France and two from the Sossís fossil locality in Catalonia, Spain. The paucity of known material makes its relationships uncertain; it is either a true skink in the family Scincidae or a close relative of skinks in the larger group Scincoidea. Pyrenasaurus is very small for a lizard, with a dentary length of only 3.4 millimetres (0.13 in). It also has very few teeth for a lizard, with only eleven tooth positions in the dentary. Other unusual anatomical features include the shortness straightness of the jaw, the lack of a Meckelian groove on the inside of the dentary, and the enlargement and lateral compression of the posterior-most dentary teeth. Pyrenasaurus may have been a fossorial or burrowing lizard because a short, straight dentary with few teeth is also present in numerous living fossorial lizards, having evolved independently in many lineages. However, the extremely small size of Pyrenasaurus may have inhibited its ability to burrow. The enlarged posterior teeth of Pyrenasaurus suggest it had a specialized diet, but what it was eating remains unknown because no living lizards have similar dentitions.
The Quercy Phosphorites Formation is a geologic formation and Lagerstätte in Occitanie, southern France. It preserves fossils dating back to the Paleogene period, or MP16 to MP28 zones of the European land mammal age classification, ranging from approximately 38 to 25 Ma.
Promegantereon is an extinct genus of machairodont from the Miocene of Europe. It is one of the oldest machairodont cat species in the Smilodontini and is believed to be an ancestor of Megantereon and Smilodon.
Yoshi is an extinct genus of machairodontine sabertooth cat in the tribe Metailurini. Its fossils were described from Turolian deposits from the Miocene epoch of the Balkan Peninsula in 2014 and specimens from China once thought to belong to Metailurus. The name comes from that of the lead author's pet cat. It has been described as potentially being synonymous with Metailurus, though this is difficult to confirm at present. The type specimen is a skull that bears remarkable similarities with the modern cheetah. Yoshi is intermediate in size between a lynx and cougar, and based on several as-yet unpublished skeletons, may have had a similar lifestyle to the cheetah, being better built for speed and fast pursuit than most other machairodonts, which were more suited to ambush and hunting large, relatively slow moving animals.
Neurogymnurus is an extinct genus of gymnures. Species are from the Miocene of Turkey and the Oligocene of the Czech Republic, France, Kazakhstan and Turkey.
Styriofelis is an extinct genus of Felidae known from the Miocene of Europe.
Miopanthera is an extinct genus of Pseudaelurus-grade felids.
Leontoceryx is an extinct, little-known genus of pantherine felid. It was named by Kretzoi Miklos based on a single lower canine of relatively stout form, with a distinct outer groove. The canine was noted as being similar to some specimens of Machairodus schlosseri.
