Biology:Puma pardoides
| Puma pardoides | |
|---|---|
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| Skull | |
_Puma_pardoides.png)
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Feliformia |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Subfamily: | Felinae |
| Genus: | Puma |
| Species: | †P. pardoides
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| Binomial name | |
| †Puma pardoides (Owen, 1846)
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| Synonyms | |
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Puma pardoides is an extinct prehistoric cat in the cougar genus Puma known from fossils found across Eurasia.
History and naming
Puma pardoides was originally described in 1846 as Felis pardoides.[1] A complete skull was described in 1954 as Panthera schaubi,[2] but was assigned in 1965 to a new genus as Viretailurus schaubi due to distinct differences from other pantherine cats.[3] In 2001, however, it was pointed out that the various puma-like fossils in Eurasia could all be attributed to a single species, Puma pardoides.[4][5] And in 2004, Viretailurus schaubia was also found to be a junior synonym of Puma pardoides.[6]
Classification
Panthera schaubi or Viretailurus schaubi was historically often regarded as a basal member of the genus Panthera.[7] However, research in 2004 concluded that Viretailurus should actually be included in the genus Puma as a junior synonym of Puma pardoides.[6][8] Fossils of this leopard-sized animal are around 2 million years old and were found in France. However, their classification was difficult, due to the similarities between leopards and pumas, until teeth found at the Upper Pliocene Transcaucasian site of Kvabebi were found to be similar to those of pumas.[6]
References
- ↑ Owen, Richard (1846). A History of British Fossil Mammals, and Birds. London: John Van Voorst.
- ↑ Viret, J. (1954). "Le loess à bancs durcis de Saint-Vallier (Drôme) et sa faune de mammifères villafranchiens". Nouvelles archives du Muséum d'histoire naturelle de Lyon 4: 1–200.
- ↑ Hemmer, H. (1964). "Studien an "Panthera schaubi" Viret aus dem Villafranchien von Saint-Vallier (Drôme)". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen 122: 324–336.
- ↑ Hemmer, H. (2001). "Die Feliden aus dem Epivillafranchium von Untermassfeld". in Kahlke, R. D.. Das Pleistozän von Untermassfeld bei Meiningen (Thüringen). Bonn: Römisch-Germaisches Zentralmuseum. pp. 699–782.
- ↑ Cherin, Marco; Iurino, Dawid A.; Sardella, Raffaele (2013). "Earliest occurrence of Puma pardoides (Owen, 1846) (Carnivora, Felidae) at the Plio/Pleistocene transition in western Europe: New evidence from the Middle Villafranchian assemblage of Montopoli, Italy". Comptes Rendus Palevol 12 (3): 165–171. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2013.01.002. Bibcode: 2013CRPal..12..165C.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Hemmer, H.; Kahlike, R. D.; Vekua, A. K. (2004). "The Old World puma Puma pardoides (Owen, 1846) (Carnivora: Felidae) in the Lower Villafranchian (Upper Pliocene) of Kvabebi (East Georgia, Transcaucasia) and its evolutionary and biogeographical significance". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen 233: 197–233. doi:10.1127/njgpa/233/2004/197.
- ↑ Turner, Alan; Anton, Mauricio (1997). The Big Cats and Their Fossil Relatives. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-10229-1.
- ↑ "Pumas of South Africa, cheetahs of France, jaguars of England". http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/13/european-cats-part-ii/.
Wikidata ☰ Q148240 entry
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