Puma lacustris

Lake cat Temporal range: Pliocene (4.18–3.11 MA)–Early Pleistocene
Holotype at the National Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Feliformia
Family:	Felidae
Subfamily:	Felinae
Genus:	Puma
Species:	†P. lacustris
Binomial name
†Puma lacustris (Gazin, 1933)
Synonyms
Felis lacustrisGazin, 1933 Lynx lacustris(Gazin, 1933)

The lake cat (Puma lacustris) 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]

Taxonomy

The earliest lake cat fossils date to 4.18–3.11 MYA and are found in the Blancan Glenns Ferry Formation, Idaho. ^[4]

Description

Lake cats were medium-sized felines with a size intermediate between modern bobcats and cougars. ^[5] Remains of lake cats are extremely similar to those of the lynx-like Felis rexroadensis, though fossils of that species are smaller in comparison with the lake cat. ^[6]

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.
4. Figueirido, Borja; Pérez-Ramos, Alejandro; Hotchner, Anthony; Lovelace, David M.; Pastor, Francisco J.; Palmqvist, Paul (2022-12-22). "The brain of the North American cheetah-like cat Miracinonyx trumani". iScience. 25 (12): 105671. doi:10.1016/j.isci.2022.105671. ISSN   2589-0042.
5. Lucas, Spencer G.; Estep, John W.; Williamson, Thomas E.; Morgan, Gary S. (1997). New Mexico's Fossil Record 1: Bulletin 11. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.
6. Czaplewski, Nicholas J. (1987). "Middle Blancan vertebrate assemblage from the Verde Formation, Arizona". Contributions to Geology. 25 (2). University of Wyoming: 146–147.