Biology:Felis attica

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Short description: Extinct species of carnivore

Felis attica
Temporal range: late Miocene[1] 9–6 Ma
Felis attica skull.jpg
Skull of Felis attica
Scientific classification edit
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Felinae
Genus: Felis (?)
Species:
F. attica
Binomial name
Felis attica
Wagner, 1857

Felis attica is an extinct cat, of which the first fossil skull was excavated near Pikermi in Attica, Greece.[2] Fossils were also excavated near the Moldovan city of Taraclia.[3] It was also discovered in Maragheh, northwestern Iran.[4] F. attica was bigger in body size than a European wildcat but probably smaller than a serval. Due to size differences, it was proposed as type species for the genus Pristifelis proposed in 2012.[5]

Around 12 million years ago, the genus Felis evolved and eventually gave rise to many of the modern small cat species. Felis attica was a small lynx-like cat and one of the ancestors of the first modern Felis species, such as F. lunensis, which evolved around 2.5 million years ago during the Pliocene epoch.[6]

References

  1. The Paleobiology Database Felis attica entry Accessed on 21 July 2011
  2. Wagner, A. (1857). "Neue Beiträge zur Kenntnis der fossilen Säugetier-Überreste von Pikermi". Abhandlungen der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften 3: 153−170. 
  3. Riabinin, A. (1927). "Faune de mammifères de Taraklia. 1. Carnivora vera, Rodentia, Subungulata". Travaux du Musée de Géologie de Leningrad 5: 75–134. 
  4. Mirzaie Ataabadi M., Fortelius M. (2016). "Introduction to the special issue "The late Miocene Maragheh mammal fauna; results of recent multidisciplinary research"". Paleobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments 99: 339–347. 
  5. Salesa, M. J.; Antón, M.; Morales, J.; Peigné, S. (2012). "Systematics and phylogeny of the small felines (Carnivora, Felidae) from the Late Miocene of Europe: a new species of Felinae from the Vallesian of Batallones (MN 10, Madrid, Spain)". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 10 (1): 87–102. doi:10.1080/14772019.2011.566584. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254249560. 
  6. Johnson, W. E.; Eizirik, E.; Pecon-Slattery, J.; Murphy, W. J.; Antunes, A.; Teeling, E.; O'Brien, S. J. (2006). "The Late Miocene radiation of modern Felidae: A genetic assessment". Science 311 (5757): 73–77. doi:10.1126/science.1122277. PMID 16400146. Bibcode2006Sci...311...73J. https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1122277. 

Wikidata ☰ Q5230606 entry