Parailurus

Parailurus Temporal range: Early Pliocene–Late Pliocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Ailuridae
Tribe:	† Pristinailurini
Genus:	† Parailurus Schlosser, 1899
Type species
†P. anglicus (Dawkins, 1888)
Species
†P. baikalicusSotnikova, 2008 †P. tedfordiWallace & Lyon, 2022 †P. hungaricusKormos, 1934 † P. anglicus Dawkins, 1888

Parailurus is a genus of extinct carnivoran mammal in the family Ailuridae. It was about 50% larger than Ailurus (red panda) and lived in the Early to Late Pliocene, and its fossils have been found in Europe, ^{[1] [2]} North America, ^[3] and Japan. ^[4]

The fossils of P. baikalicus, known from the Transbaikal region of Russia, ^[5] carry low-crowned lower molars, along with the main cuspids of the cheek teeth being worn horizontally. This suggests P. baikalicus was folivorous, commonly consuming leaves. ^[6]

The species P. hungaricus is known from the site of Hajnáčka in Slovakia, dating back to the early MN 16 stage. ^[1]

A fourth species, Parailurus tedfordi, was described in 2022. ^[3]

References

1. Fejfar, Oldřich; Sabol, Martin (April 2004). "Pliocene Carnivores (Carnivora, Mammalia) from Ivanovce and Hajnáčka (Slovakia)". Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg . 246: 15–53. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
2. Goswami, Anjali; Friscia, Anthony, eds. (July 2010). Carnivoran Evolution: New Views on Phylogeny, Form and Function. Cambridge University Press. pp. 117–119. ISBN   978-0-521-51529-0.
3. Wallace, Steven C.; Lyon, Lauren M. (2022). "Systematic revision of the Ailurinae (Mammalia: Carnivora: Ailuridae): With a new species from North America". Red Panda. pp. 31–52. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-823753-3.00011-9. ISBN   9780128237533. S2CID   243818007.
4. Sasagawa, Ichiro; Takahashi, Keiichi; Sakumoto, Tatsuya; Nagamori, Hideaki; Yabe, Hideo; Kobayashi, Iwao (24 December 2003). "Discovery of the extinct red panda Parailurus (Mammalia, Carnivora) in Japan" . Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 23 (4): 895–900. doi:10.1671/2441-14. ISSN   0272-4634 . Retrieved 8 September 2025– via Taylor and Francis Online.
5. Sotnikova, M. V. (30 January 2008). "A new species of lesser panda Parailurus (Mammalia, Carnivora) from the Pliocene of Transbaikalia (Russia) and some aspects of ailurine phylogeny" . Paleontological Journal . 42 (1): 90–99. doi:10.1134/S0031030108010152. ISSN   0031-0301 . Retrieved 9 September 2025– via Springer Nature Link.
6. Ogino, Shintaro; Nakaya, Hideo; Takai, Masanaru; Fukuchi, Akira; Maschenko, Evgeny N.; Kalmykov, Nikolai P. (September 30, 2009). "Mandible and Lower Dentition of Parailurus baikalicus (Ailuridae, Carnivora) from Transbaikal area, Russia" . Paleontological Research. 13 (3): 259–264. doi: 10.2517/1342-8144-13.3.259 . ISSN   1342-8144. S2CID   86244485.

Further reading

• Kundrát, Martin (2011). "Phenotypic and Geographic Diversity of the Lesser Panda Parailurus". Red Panda. pp. 61–87. doi:10.1016/B978-1-4377-7813-7.00005-7. ISBN   9781437778137. S2CID   89029827.