| Miopanthera | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Feliformia |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Genus: | † Miopanthera Kretzoi, 1938 |
| Type species | |
| †Pseudaelurus lorteti Gaillard, 1899 | |
| Species | |
| |
| Synonyms | |
M. lorteti
M. pamiri
| |
Miopanthera is an extinct genus of Pseudaelurus -grade felids.
The genus Miopanthera was first proposed in 1938 by Kretzoi for the species Pseudaelurus lorteti. [1] P. lorteti had previously been described as such in 1899, upon the discovery of fossils in Europe. However, Kretzoi's proposal was largely ignored by later authors. A 2010 review of the Felidae proposed splitting the genus Pseudaelurus in three, and suggested assigning P. lorteti to the genus Styriofelis alongside P. turnauensis. [2]
Another species, Felis pamiri, was described in 1965 based on a snout fragment found in Turkey. The locality at which it was found was estimated to be from the late Miocene, about 9.9 Ma. After its original description, no further material was assigned to the species. [3] [4]
In 2017, a review of the species Felis pamiri concluded that it was likely closely related to S. lorteti, and reassigned both species to the genus Miopanthera. The paper also noted that the species Panthera blytheae , which had been described not long before, lacked features that assigned it specifically to the genus Panthera, but that further examination of the material had the potential to clarify Miopanthera's relation to the modern pantherine (Panthera and Neofelis) cats. [4]
A 2020 study of newfound material from the Siwaliks region suggested that the species Miopanthera lorteti be reassigned to the genus Sivaelurus , and that M. pamiri be assigned to a new genus because it is younger, larger, and more derived. [5] Another study done in 2023 proposed moving both M. pamiri and P. blytheae to a new genus, Palaeopanthera. [6]
Miopanthera lorteti ranged in size from that of a large caracal to a small leopard. Miopanthera pamiri, which is known only from fragmentary, though intact, material[ clarification needed ] from a single individual, is theorized to have been similar in size to a large lynx or a small puma. [4]
M. pamiri is believed to have evolved from the earlier M. lorteti. Due to certain features, it is also considered likely that Miopanthera was in some way ancestral to the modern Panthera lineage. [4]
Felidae is the family of mammals in the order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats. A member of this family is also called a felid. The term "cat" refers both to felids in general and specifically to the domestic cat.
Panthera is a genus within the family Felidae that was named and described by Lorenz Oken in 1816 who placed all the spotted cats in this group. Reginald Innes Pocock revised the classification of this genus in 1916 as comprising the tiger, lion, jaguar, and leopard on the basis of common cranial features. Results of genetic analysis indicate that the snow leopard also belongs to the genus Panthera, a classification that was accepted by IUCN Red List assessors in 2008.
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.
Metailurini is an extinct taxonomic tribe of large saber-toothed cats that lived in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America from the Miocene to the Pleistocene.
Paramachaerodus is an extinct genus of saber-tooth cat of the subfamily Machairodontinae, which was endemic to Europe and Asia during the late Miocene from 15 to 9 Ma.
Pantherinae is a subfamily within the family Felidae; it was named and first described by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1917 as only including the Panthera species. The Pantherinae genetically diverged from a common ancestor between 9.32 to 4.47 million years ago and 10.67 to 3.76 million years ago.
Adelphailurus is an extinct genus of machairodontine (saber-toothed) cat inhabited western North America during the middle Pliocene.
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.
Barbourofelidae is an extinct family of carnivorans of the suborder Feliformia, sometimes known as false saber-toothed cats, that lived in North America, Eurasia and Africa during the Miocene epoch and existed for about 7.9 million years. Thought to be an independent lineage from the Nimravidae and Machairodontinae, which had all attained elongated canines, recent research argues that it may be a subfamily of the Nimravidae, extending its biochronological range into the Miocene, although this issue is not yet fully resolved.
Nimravides is a genus of extinct saber-toothed cats that lived in North America during the Late Miocene, between 10.3 and 5.332 Ma. Despite its scientific name, Nimravides does not belong to the Nimravidae, but is a true cat belonging to the family Felidae.
Panthera blytheae is an extinct species of pantherine felid that lived during the late Messinian to early Zanclean ages approximately 5.95–4.1 million years ago.The first fossils were excavated in August 2010 in the Zanda Basin located in the Ngari Prefecture on the Tibetan Plateau; they were described and named in 2014.
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.
Styriofelis is an extinct genus of Felidae known from the Miocene of Europe.
Hyperailurictis is an extinct genus of felid from Miocene North America. The Hyperailurictis species are Pseudaelurus-grade felids and thought to be the first felids in the Americas.
Leptofelis is an extinct genus of Pseudaelurus-grade felid found in Spain.
Sivaelurus is an extinct genus of felid. The type and only species, S. chinjiensis, was described based on a fragmentary fossil found in Asia. It was originally described as Pseudaelurus chinjiensis in 1910, but was reassigned to a new genus in 1915. The 1915 study also described further material, including a mandible fragment tentatively assigned to S. chinjiensis?; this fragment was later used as the basis of another genus Sivasmilus in 1939. A 2018 study noted that the mandible fragment seemed to fit the holotype of Sivaelurus quite well.
Asilifelis is an extinct genus of small felid that lived in what is now Kenya during the Early Miocene. Despite its fragmentary remains, it is remarkable because of its small size and advanced dentition. It contains a single species, Asilifelis cotae.
Diamantofelis is an extinct genus of felids that lived in what is now Namibia during the Early Miocene. It contains a single species, Diamantofelis ferox.
Sivasmilus is a fossil genus of barbourofelid containing a single species Sivasmilus copei. It was described based on fragmentary mandible from the Chinji Formation in the Siwaliks.