Sivaelurus

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Sivaelurus
Temporal range: Miocene
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Genus:† Sivaelurus
Pilgrim, 1913
Type species
†Sivaelurus chinjiensis
(Pilgrim, 1910)
Synonyms

S. chinjiensis

  • Pseudaelurus chinjiensisPilgrim, 1910
  • Aeluropsis chinjiensis(Pilgrim, 1910) sensu Matthew, 1929

Sivaelurus is a fossil genus of felid containing only a single species, S. chinjiensis, which was described based on a partial right maxilla collected from the Chinji Formation in the Lower Siwaliks. The species was originally described by Guy Ellcock Pilgrim as Pseudaelurus chinjiensis in 1910, who later erected a new genus, Sivaelurus, for it in 1913.

Contents

History and naming

The holotype specimen, GSI-D 150, was collected from the Chinji Formation at the Chinji type locality in the Salt Range. It was described as the type and only specimen of the new species Pseudaelurus chinjiensis by British paleontologist Guy Ellcock Pilgrim in 1910. [1] In 1913, however, he provisionally erected a new genus Sivaelurus for the species in a footnote of a broader paper. [2] The genus and species Sivaelurus chinjiensis was more formally described in 1915, and a second specimen- a partial left ramus- from the same location and of similar size as GSI-D 150 was described and assigned to S. chinjiensis as well. [3] [4]

In 1929, American paleontologist W. D. Matthew suggested that S. chinjiensis be assigned to the genus Aeluropsis and stated that the second specimen, the partial ramus, was distinctly machaerodont while the holotype was distinctly feline, and that the two were unlikely to belong to the same genus and species. [5] In that same year, Hungarian paleontologist Miklos Kretzoi reached the same conclusion regarding the ramus and used it as the holotype for another species and genus, Sivasmilus copei . [6] The reassignment of the ramus was acknowledged and agreed with by Pilgrim in 1932, who wrote that he had sought to avoid establishing an ill-defined genus when he assigned it to Sivaelurus; [7] the suggested reassignment of S. chinjiensis to Aeluropsis was not followed by Pilgrim nor other researchers. [7] [8]

A 2018 study noted that the mandible fragment seemed to fit the holotype of Sivaelurus quite well. [9]

A 2020 study of newfound material from the region suggested that the species Miopanthera lorteti be reassigned to this genus; it also described fragmentary material referable to Sivaelurus sp. [10]

Classification

Pilgrim, in the 1915 description of the genus, considered it similar to various species of Paramachaerodus based on some features, but similar to felines, specifically Felis nebulosa (the modern clouded leopard), based on others. He proposed that Sivaelurus was ancestral to Felis nebulosa. [2]

Matthew in 1929 considered the species a feline based on the holotype and rejected Pilgrim's proposal that it was ancestral to F. nebulosa, [5] while Kretzoi placed Sivaelurus in the subfamily Acinonychinae alongside the cheetah genus Acinonyx . [6] Pilgrim in 1932 agreed with Matthew regarding Sivaelurus as a feline, considering Kretzoi's placement of Sivaelurus in Acinonychinae poorly-founded. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felidae</span> Family of mammals

Felidae is the family of mammals in the order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats. A member of this family is also called a felid. The term "cat" refers both to felids in general and specifically to the domestic cat.

<i>Proailurus</i> Extinct genus of carnivores

Proailurus is an extinct felid genus that lived in Europe and Asia approximately 25-30.8 million years ago in the Late Oligocene and Miocene. Fossils have been found in Mongolia, Germany, and Spain.

<i>Pseudaelurus</i> Extinct genus of carnivores

Pseudaelurus is a prehistoric cat that lived in Europe, Asia and North America in the Miocene between approximately twenty and eight million years ago. It is considered to be a paraphyletic grade ancestral to living felines and pantherines as well as the extinct machairodonts (saber-tooths), and is a successor to Proailurus. It originated from Eurasia and was the first cat to reach North America, when it entered the continent at about 18.5 Ma ending a 'cat-gap' of 7 million years. The slender proportions of the animal, together with its short, viverrid-like legs, suggest that it may have been an agile climber of trees.

<i>Neofelis</i> Genus of carnivores

Neofelis is a genus comprising two extant cat species in Southeast Asia: the clouded leopard of mainland Asia, and the Sunda clouded leopard of Sumatra and Borneo.

Paramachaerodus is an extinct genus of saber-tooth cat of the subfamily Machairodontinae, which was endemic to Europe and Asia during the late Miocene from 15 to 9 Ma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbourofelidae</span> Extinct family of feliform carnivorans

Barbourofelidae is an extinct family of carnivorans of the suborder Feliformia, sometimes known as false saber-toothed cats, that lived in North America, Eurasia and Africa during the Miocene epoch and existed for about 7.9 million years. Thought to be an independent lineage from the Nimravidae and Machairodontinae, which had all attained elongated canines, recent research argues that it may be a subfamily of the Nimravidae, extending its biochronological range into the Miocene, although this issue is not yet fully resolved.

<i>Nimravides</i> Extinct genus of carnivores

Nimravides is a genus of extinct saber-toothed cats that lived in North America during the Late Miocene, between 10.3 and 5.332 Ma. Despite its scientific name, Nimravides does not belong to the Nimravidae, but is a true cat belonging to the family Felidae.

Pratifelis is an extinct genus of feline that lived in North America during the middle Miocene period. It contains a single species, Pratifelis martini.

<i>Felis lunensis</i> Extinct species of felid

Felis lunensis, or the Martelli's cat is an extinct felid of the subfamily Felinae.

Sivaladapis is a genus of adapiform primate that lived in Asia during the middle Miocene.

Sivapanthera is a prehistoric genus of felid described by Kretzoi in 1929. Species of Sivapanthera are closely related to the modern cheetah but differ from modern cheetahs by having relatively longer brain cases, flatter foreheads, narrower nostrils and larger teeth. In many ways, skulls of Sivapanthera show similarity to that of the puma, or even those of Panthera. Scholars differ on the validity of this genus, while some think that it should be treated as a distinct genus, others think that its members should be treated as members of the Acinonyx genus, or even as subspecies of Acinonyx pardinensis.

Styriofelis is an extinct genus of Felidae known from the Miocene of Europe.

Hyperailurictis is an extinct genus of felid from Miocene North America. The Hyperailurictis species are Pseudaelurus-grade felids and thought to be the first felids in the Americas.

<i>Leptofelis</i> Extinct genus of carnivores

Leptofelis is an extinct genus of Pseudaelurus-grade felid found in Spain.

Miopanthera is an extinct genus of Pseudaelurus-grade felids.

Asilifelis is an extinct genus of small felid that lived in what is now Kenya during the Early Miocene. Despite its fragmentary remains, it is remarkable because of its small size and advanced dentition. It contains a single species, Asilifelis cotae.

Diamantofelis is an extinct genus of felids that lived in what is now Namibia during the Early Miocene. It contains a single species, Diamantofelis ferox.

<i>Sivasmilus</i> Extinct genus of barbourofelid

Sivasmilus is a fossil genus of barbourofelid containing only a single species, Sivasmilus copei. It is known from only a single specimen, a partial mandible collected from the Chinji Formation in the Lower Siwaliks in Pakistan, estimated to be from the Miocene. The fossil was originally described in 1915 when it was assigned to the fossil feline Sivaelurus chinjiensis, but was used as the basis of a new genus and species in 1929 by Hungarian paleontologist Miklós Kretzoi. Sivasmilus copei was a relatively small, cat-like animal.

Vishnufelis is an early fossil genus of feline containing only a single species, Vishnufelis laticeps. It was described by Guy Ellcock Pilgrim in 1932, based on the first felid cranial material found in Asia: a fragmented skull found in the Chinji Formation, which dates back to the middle Miocene.

Vinayakia is a fossil genus of proailurine felid with three species: Vinayakia nocturna, the type species, Vinayakia intermedia, and Vinayakia sarcophaga. All three species were based on fossils collected from the Miocene-aged Nagri and Chinji Formations of the Siwaliks in India and Pakistan.

References

  1. ↑ Pilgrim, G. (1910). "Notices of new mammalian genera and species from the Tertiaries of India". Records of the Geological Survey of India. 40: 45.
  2. 1 2 Pilgrim, Guy Ellcock (1913). "The correlation of the Siwaliks with mammal horizons of Europe". Records of the Geological Survey of India. 43: 282, 291, 314.
  3. ↑ Pilgrim, G. (1915). "Note on the new feline genera Sivaelurus and Paramachaerodus and on the possible survival of the subphylum in modern times". Records of the Geological Survey of India. 65: 138–155.
  4. ↑ Rothwell, Tom (2004). "Chapter 12: New Felid Material from the Ulaan Tologoi Locality, Loh Formation (Early Miocene) of Mongolia". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 285: 157–165. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.616.5669 . doi:10.1206/0003-0090(2004)285<0157:C>2.0.CO;2. S2CID   85951519.
  5. 1 2 Matthew, W. D. (1929). "Critical Observations upon Siwalik Mammals". Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. LVI: 496–499. hdl:2246/1325.
  6. 1 2 Kretzoi, M. (1929). "Materialen zur phylogenetischen Klassifikation der Aeluroideen". Cong. Int. Zool. Budapest. 10: 1293–1355.
  7. 1 2 3 Pilgrim, G. (1932). "The fossil Carnivora of India". Palaeontologia Indica, Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India. 18: 206–209.
  8. ↑ Colbert, Edwin H. (1935). "Siwalik Mammals in the American Museum of Natural History". Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. 26: 124. doi:10.2307/1005467. JSTOR   1005467.
  9. ↑ Bonis, Louis de; Peigné†, Stéphane; Mackaye, Hassane Taisso; Likius, Andossa; Vignaud, Patrick; Brunet, Michel (2018). "New sabre toothed Felidae (Carnivora, Mammalia) in the hominid-bearing sites of Toros Menalla (Late Miocene, Chad)". Geodiversitas. 40 (1): 81. doi: 10.5252/geodiversitas2018v40a3 . S2CID   134769588.
  10. ↑ Qigao Jiangzuo; Danhui Sun; John J. Flynn (2020). "Paleobiogeographic implications of additional Felidae (Carnivora, Mammalia) specimens from the Siwaliks". Historical Biology. 33 (9): 1767–1780. doi:10.1080/08912963.2020.1737683. S2CID   216279658.
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