Parailurus

Parailurus Temporal range: Early Pliocene–Late Pliocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Left upper first molar fragment (UCMP 77039) referred to P. cf. P. anglicus [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Ailuridae
Tribe:	† Pristinailurini
Genus:	† Parailurus Schlosser, 1899
Type species
†Ailurus anglicus Dawkins, 1888
Species
†P. anglicus(Dawkins, 1888) †P. baikalicusSotnikova, 2008 †P. tedfordiWallace & Lyon, 2022

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, Asia and North America.

History of discovery

The type species, Parailurus anglicus, was first described by William Boyd Dawkins in 1888, who originally called it Ailurus anglicus. The species was found at the Red Crag in East Anglia. ^[2] Max Schlosser reclassified the species' genus as Parailurus in 1899, following a study of a more complete specimen's dentition from the Baróth-Köpecz locality. ^{[3] [4]}

Tivadar Kormos described a new species of Parailurus called Parailurus hungaricus in 1939, known from the site of Hajnáčka in Slovakia, dating back to the early MN 16 stage. ^[5] This species is now considered a junior synonym of Parailurus anglicus. ^[6] The other two species, P. baikalicus and P. tedfordi, were described in 2008 and 2022 respectively. ^{[7] [8]} Specimens identified from Japan are referred to P. sp. ^[9]

Description

Size compared to human

Because Parailurus anglicus has been only described by fragmentary remains, its appearance hasn't been well-documented. Other Ailurids provide the general idea of what Parailurus anglicus looked like. Dawkins' specimen was a "battered and worn down" part of the right lower jaw, not giving much information of the appearance of Parailurus anglicus. ^[2]

A reconstruction by the Czech artist Oldřich Kroupa represented it as extremely similar to the red panda, though with darker and dull fur. ^[10] Parailurusanglicus was twice the size of a red panda, ^[11] and probably lived in a similar environment to that of the red panda. ^[4]

Parailurus anglicus had a much rather distinct dentition when compared to other ailurids. It has a pretty unusual upper fourth premolar, with greater antoposterior length than transverse width. ^[12] Its teeth suggest it was an omnivorous animal. ^[13] The fossils of P. baikalicus, known from the Transbaikal region of Russia, ^[7] 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. ^[14]

Classification

The placement of Parailurus anglicus and ailurids overall in the evolutionary tree has been debated. They were first placed in the family Procyonidae in the early 20th century for the raccoon's similarity with the red panda. Newer genetic studies in 2005, 2018 and 2021 have placed the ailurid family in the clade Musteloidea, which includes Procyonidae, Mustelidae (weasels, minks and relatives) and Mephitidae (skunks and stink badgers). ^{[15] [16] [17]}

References

1. 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.
2. Dawkins, William Boyd (1 February 1888). "On Ailurus anglicus, a new Carnivore from the Red Crag". Journal of the Geological Society . 44 (1–4). Geological Society of London: 228–231. Bibcode:1888QJGS...44..228D. doi:10.1144/GSL.JGS.1888.044.01-04.20.
3. Schlosser, Max. "Parailurus anglicus és Ursus Böckhi a baroth-köpeczi lignitből, Háromszék vármegyében". Magyar Állami Földtani Intézet évkönyve. 28. Franklin-Társulat Könyvnyomdája: 67.
4. Kurtén, Björn (1968). Pleistocene mammals of Europe. Transaction Publishers. p. 118. ISBN   978-1-351-49948-4.
5. 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.
6. Lawrence, Steven C.; Lyon, Lauren M. (5 November 2022). "Systematic revision of the Ailurinae (Mammalia: Carnivora: Ailuridae): with a new species from North America" . Red Panda. Academic Press: 31–52. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-823753-3.00011-9. ISBN   978-0-12-823753-3 – via Elsevier Science Direct.
7. 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. Bibcode:2008PalJ...42...90S. doi:10.1134/S0031030108010152. ISSN   0031-0301 . Retrieved 9 September 2025– via Springer Nature Link.
8. 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.
9. 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. Bibcode:2003JVPal..23..895S. doi:10.1671/2441-14. ISSN   0272-4634 . Retrieved 8 September 2025– via Taylor and Francis Online.
10. Kroupa, Oldřich. "Parailurus". Biologus. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
11. Rhys (2 March 2021). "Red Pandas And The Fossil Record Of Cuteness – The Bristol Dinosaur Project". The Bristol Dinosaur Project. University of Bristol . Retrieved 16 November 2024.
12. Sasagawa, Ichiro; Takahashi, Keiichi; Sakumoto, Tatsuya; Nagamori, Hideaki; Hideo, Yabe; Kobayashi, Iwao (1 December 2003). "Discovery of the Extinct Red Panda Parailurus (Mammalia, Carnivora) in Japan". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 23 (4). Taylor & Francis Group: 895–900. Bibcode:2003JVPal..23..895S. doi:10.1671/2441-14.
13. Arment, Chad (2003). "The Lesser Pandas". ZooCreation. Darke County, Ohio. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
14. Ogino, Shintaro; Nakaya, Hideo; Takai, Masanaru; Fukuchi, Akira; Maschenko, Evgeny N.; Kalmykov, Nikolai P. (30 September 2009). "Mandible and Lower Dentition of Parailurus baikalicus (Ailuridae, Carnivora) from Transbaikal area, Russia". Paleontological Research. 13 (3): 259–264. Bibcode:2009PalRe..13..259O. doi: 10.2517/1342-8144-13.3.259 . ISSN   1342-8144. S2CID   86244485.
15. Flynn, J. J.; Finarelli, J. A.; Zehr, S.; Hsu, J. & Nedbal, M. A. (2005). "Molecular phylogeny of the Carnivora (Mammalia): Assessing the impact of increased sampling on resolving enigmatic relationships". Systematic Biology. 54 (2): 317–337. doi: 10.1080/10635150590923326 . PMID   16012099.
16. Law, C. J.; Slater, G. J. & Mehta, R. S. (2018). "Lineage Diversity and Size Disparity in Musteloidea: Testing Patterns of Adaptive Radiation Using Molecular and Fossil-Based Methods". Systematic Biology. 67 (1): 127–144. doi: 10.1093/sysbio/syx047 . PMID   28472434.
17. Hassanin, A.; Veron, G.; Ropiquet, A.; van Vuuren, B. J.; Lécu, A.; Goodman, S. M.; Haider, J.; Nguyen, T. T. (2021). "Evolutionary history of Carnivora (Mammalia, Laurasiatheria) inferred from mitochondrial genomes". PLOS ONE. 16 (2) e0240770. Bibcode:2021PLoSO..1640770H. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0240770 . PMC   7886153 . PMID   33591975.