Pannonictis

Pannonictis Temporal range: Late Pliocene - Mid Pleistocene 2.6–1.0  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Fossil of Pannonictis nestii
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Mustelidae
Subfamily:	Ictonychinae
Genus:	† Pannonictis Kormos, 1931 [1]
Type species
†Pannonictis pliocaenica Kormos, 1931
Other Species
P. nestii P. pachygnatha P. baroniensis

Pannonictis is a genus of extinct mustelids. It is first known from the very Late Pliocene, and it survived until the end of the Villafranchian. The genus is most commonly recorded from deposits between 2.6 and 1.4 Ma. Fossil remains of Pannonictis have been found throughout Eurasia, from the Iberian Peninsula to eastern China. ^[2]

Taxonomy

Pannonictis is closely related to another prehistoric genus, Enhydrictis . ^[3] At least four different species are recognised; P. pliocaenica, ^{[4] [5]} P. pachygnatha, ^[2] P. nestii, ^{[6] [7] [8]} and P. baroniensis. ^[9] Another species known as P. pilgrimi is no longer valid, and most likely a synonym of P. pliocaenica. ^[2] In the past, Martellictis ardea was also at one point considered a species of Pannonictis, but it has since been moved to its own genus. ^[5]

Description

As with many living mustelids, Pannonictis likely displayed pronounced sexual dimorphism. In fact, the small species known as P. pilgrimi is now often considered merely a female form of the larger P. pliocaenica. P. nestii was the smallest and most slender species of the genus as well as the latest surviving member. P. pachygnatha is a more robust species, with specific dental and mandibular differences. ^[2]

An otter-like aquatic lifestyle for Pannonictis is not likely, but it has been suggested it inhabited areas near river courses, much like their phylogenetic descendant, the living grison.

References

1. "Pannonictis". Fossilworks.
2. Garcia, N. Villagra; Arsuaga, Juan Luis; de Castro, José María Bermúdez; Carbonell, Eudald; Rosas, Antonio; Huguet, Rosa (March 2008). "The Epivillafranchian carnivore Pannonictis (Mammalia, Mustelidae) from Sima del Elefante (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain) and a revision of the Eurasian occurrences from a taxonomic perspective". Quaternary International . 179 (1): 42–52. Bibcode:2008QuInt.179...42G. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2007.09.031.
3. van der Geer, Alexandra; Lyras, George; de Vos, John (2011). Evolution of Island Mammals: Adaptation and Extinction of Placental Mammals on Islands. Wiley. p. 129. ISBN   9781119675747.
4. Gazin, C. Lewis (May 1934). "Upper Pliocene Mustelids from the Snake River Basin of Idaho". Journal of Mammalogy . 15 (2): 137. doi:10.2307/1373984 . Retrieved 3 November 2025– via Oxford Academic.
5. Bartolini Lucenti, Saverio (October–December 2018). "Revising the species "Mustela" ardea Gervais, 1848–1852 (Mammalia, Mustelidae): Martellictis gen. nov. and the systematics of the fossil "Galictinae" of Eurasia". Comptes Rendus Palevol . 17 (8): 522–535. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2018.02.003 . Retrieved 3 November 2025– via Elsevier Science Direct.
6. Koufos, George D.; Tamvakis, Aggelos (3 August 2022). "Revising the Villafranchian carnivoran fauna from Libakos (Macedonia, Greece) with some implications for its age". Historical Biology . 34 (8): 1399–1412. doi:10.1080/08912963.2021.2024179. ISSN   0891-2963 . Retrieved 10 November 2025– via Taylor and Francis Online.
7. Colombero, Simone; Pavia, Marco; Rook, Lorenzo (1 September 2012). "Pannonictis nestii (Galictinae, Mustelidae), a new element in the vertebrate association of the human site of Pirro Nord (Italy, Early Pleistocene)". Geodiversitas . 34 (3): 665–681. doi:10.5252/g2012n3a11. ISSN   1280-9659 . Retrieved 7 November 2025– via BioOne Digital Library.
8. Rook, Lorenzo (January 1995). "Pannonictis nestii (Carnivora, Mammalia) from the late Villafranchian of Pietrafitta (Umbria, Italy). Preliminary note". Eclogae Geologicae Helvetiae. 88 (3).
9. Rook, Lorenzo; Bartolini Lucenti, Saverio; Tuveri, Caterinella; Arca, Marisa (1 October 2018). "Mustelids (Carnivora, Mammalia) from Monte Tuttavista fissure fillings (Early and Middle Pleistocene; Orosei, Sardinia): Taxonomy and evolution of the insular Sardinian Galictini". Quaternary Science Reviews . 197: 209–223. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.08.022 . Retrieved 3 November 2025– via Elsevier Science Direct.