Puma lacustris

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Puma lacustris
Temporal range: 4.8–1.8  Ma
O
S
D
C
P
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Pg
N
Blancan
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Felinae
Genus: Puma
Species:
P. lacustris
Binomial name
Puma lacustris
C. Lewis Gazin, 1933 sensu K.L. Seymour, 1999
Synonyms
  • Felis lacustrisC. Lewis Gazin, 1933
  • Lynx lacustris(C. Lewis Gazin, 1933) sensu Savage, 1960

Puma lacustris (also known as the lake cat) is an extinct species of Puma from the Blancan stage (from the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene). The type specimen is a partial fragment piece of the right side of the mandible retaining canine and cheek-teeth found in the Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument from Idaho. The holotype was described in 1933 by Gazin who considered a smaller relative of the cougar. [1] The taxonomic identity has been uncertain at times, as a relationship (and classification) to lynxes has been purposed. [2] Additional specimens of this species of Puma have been found elsewhere in North America, such as Washington, California, Arizona, Texas, and Baja California. [3]

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References

  1. Gazin, C.L. (1933). "New felids from the upper Pliocene of Idaho". Journal of Mammalogy. 14 (3): 251–256. doi:10.2307/1373825. JSTOR   1373825.
  2. Bjork, P.R. (1970). "The Carnivora of the Hagerman local fauna (late Pliocene) of southwestern Idaho". Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. 60 (7): 3–54. doi:10.2307/1006119. JSTOR   1006119.
  3. Bjorn, K.; Anderson, E. (1980). Pleistocene mammals of North America. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 1–422. ISBN   9780231037334.