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Leptofelis
''Leptofelis'' is an extinct genus of ''Pseudaelurus''-grade felid found in Spain. Etymology The generic name ''Leptofelis'' comes from the Latin words for swift, ''lepto'', and cat, ''felis'', essentially translating to "swift cat". The specific name ''vallesiensis'' was given because the species was found in localities of Vallesian age. Taxonomy and phylogeny ''Leptofelis vallesiensis'' was first described as ''Styriofelis vallesiensis'' in 2012, based on several specimens from Batallones-1 and Batallones-3, a pair of Vallesian-age localities in Spain. The specimens included a partial but well-preserved skeleton and several skulls. However, a review of the species in 2017 concluded that it was sufficiently different from other ''Styriofelis'' species as to warrant a new genus, and was therefore reassigned as ''Leptofelis vallesiensis''. Description ''Leptofelis vallesiensis'' is theorized to have had long and slender legs, and to weigh between , similar in size to a caraca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pseudaelurus
''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. Species and distribution ''Pseudaelurus quadridentatus'' weighed about and was approximately the size of a cougar. ''Pseudaelurus guangheensis'' from the middle Miocene of Gansu (China) and ''Pseudaelurus cuspidatus'' from the middle Miocene of Xinjiang (China) are reported. Taxonomy and phylogeny Traditionally all the ''Pseudaelurus''-grade ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cerro De Los Batallones
Cerro de los Batallones (''Hill of the Battalions'') is a hill at Torrejón de Velasco, Madrid, Spain where a number of fossil sites from the Upper Miocene ( MN10) have been found. Nine sites have been discovered with predominantly vertebrate fossils, invertebrates and plants being less represented. The first deposits were discovered accidentally in July 1991. Batallones-10 (B-10) is considered to contain the oldest representative of fossils. Fossils Nearly the entire proportion of fossils of Batallones-1 were of Carnivorans. The species of sabre-tooth cat known as ''Promegantereon ogygia'' and ''Machairodus aphanistus'' (the first complete skull) were found at B-1, as was ''Simocyon'' a type of red panda. In regards to the saber-tooth cats, Batallones-1 represents an ideal site for recording the percentage of specimens for which breakage of the upper canines occurred. Promegantereon, Machairodus and Paramachairodus are perfect examples of this at Batallones; fossils indicate a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vallesian
The Vallesian age is a period of geologic time (11.6–9.0 Ma) within the Miocene used more specifically with European Land Mammal Ages. It precedes the Turolian age and follows the Astaracian age. The so-called Vallesian Crisis resulted in the extinction of several mammalian taxa characteristic of the Middle Miocene. The term "Vallesian" was introduced by Catalan palaeontologist Miquel Crusafont in 1950 to mark the arrival of the equid ''Hipparion'' in Europe. The remaining European palaeofaunas, however, had been around since the Middle Miocene, including the moschid ''Micromeryx'' (a musk deer), the cervid ''Euprox'', the suid '' Listriodon'', and the felids ''Sansanosmilus'' and ''Pseudaelurus'', and the Aragonian-Vallesian"Aragonian" is a Spanish term for a continental stage, roughly equivalent to the Middle Miocene or Astaracian (16–11 Ma). boundary does not represent a major shift in the European mammalian record. In contrast, the transition between Lower and Upper Vall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prehistoric Carnivoran Genera
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of symbols, marks, and images appears very early among humans, but the earliest known writing systems appeared 5000 years ago. It took thousands of years for writing systems to be widely adopted, with writing spreading to almost all cultures by the 19th century. The end of prehistory therefore came at very different times in different places, and the term is less often used in discussing societies where prehistory ended relatively recently. In the early Bronze Age, Sumer in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley Civilisation, and ancient Egypt were the first civilizations to develop their own scripts and to keep historical records, with their neighbors following. Most other civilizations reached the end of prehistory during the following Iron Age. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miocene Genus Extinctions
The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern marine invertebrates than the Pliocene has. The Miocene is preceded by the Oligocene and is followed by the Pliocene. As Earth went from the Oligocene through the Miocene and into the Pliocene, the climate slowly cooled towards a series of ice ages. The Miocene boundaries are not marked by a single distinct global event but consist rather of regionally defined boundaries between the warmer Oligocene and the cooler Pliocene Epoch. During the Early Miocene, the Arabian Peninsula collided with Eurasia, severing the connection between the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, and allowing a faunal interchange to occur between Eurasia and Africa, including the dispersal of proboscideans into Eurasia. During the late ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miocene Carnivorans
The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern marine invertebrates than the Pliocene has. The Miocene is preceded by the Oligocene and is followed by the Pliocene. As Earth went from the Oligocene through the Miocene and into the Pliocene, the climate slowly cooled towards a series of ice ages. The Miocene boundaries are not marked by a single distinct global event but consist rather of regionally defined boundaries between the warmer Oligocene and the cooler Pliocene Epoch. During the Early Miocene, the Arabian Peninsula collided with Eurasia, severing the connection between the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, and allowing a faunal interchange to occur between Eurasia and Africa, including the dispersal of proboscideans into Eurasia. During the late ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prehistoric Felids
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of symbols, marks, and images appears very early among humans, but the earliest known writing systems appeared 5000 years ago. It took thousands of years for writing systems to be widely adopted, with writing spreading to almost all cultures by the 19th century. The end of prehistory therefore came at very different times in different places, and the term is less often used in discussing societies where prehistory ended relatively recently. In the early Bronze Age, Sumer in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley Civilisation, and ancient Egypt were the first civilizations to develop their own scripts and to keep historical records, with their neighbors following. Most other civilizations reached the end of prehistory during the following Iron Age. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protictitherium
''Protictitherium'' ( gr. first striking beast) is an extinct genus of hyaena that lived across Europe and Asia during the Middle and Late Miocene, it is often considered to be the first hyaena since it contains some of the oldest fossils of the family. They were especially prolific in Turkey, where every species has been registered. Description ''Protictitherium'' was akin to civets both in size, being around 50 cm (19 inches) tall at their shoulder; and in weight, with calculations suggesting something around 4-8 kg (8-18 lb), with differences between species. It has been suggested that ''Protictitherium'' was a partly arboreal predator, due to their semi-retractable claws, perhaps to avoid larger predators . While they possessed somewhat large molars and premolars, their bite wasn't remarkably strong. Species There are generally three recognized species in the genus ''Protictitherium'', though there are some that suggest that species in the genus '' Tungurictis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indarctos
''Indarctos'' is an extinct genus of bear, endemic to North America, Europe and Asia during the Miocene. It was present from ~11.1 to 5.3 Ma, existing for approximately . The oldest member is from Arizona (~11.1—7.7 Ma) and youngest is (~9.0—5.3 Ma) from Kazakhstan. In North America this animal was contemporary with ''Plionarctos'' (~10.3—3.3 Ma). Discovery, history and taxonomy Discoveries A molar (designated to MNA 1839/km-83) discovered from the Karabulak formation in 1988 was tentatively assigned to ''Indarctos sp''. In 2017 it was re examined and assigned to ''I. punjabensis.'' The tooth was found to belong to a young individual, which might possibly be a male, and is the largest tooth known from this species. This might be due to sexual dimorphism since extant male bears are larger than the females. Species ''Indarctos'' is known from several species spread widely across Eurasia, North America, and North Africa, however, most of them are known from fragm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paramachairodus
''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. ''Paramacheirodus'' is one of the oldest known true saber-toothed cats. Many fossils were discovered in Cerro de los Batallones, a Late Miocene fossil site near Madrid, Spain. One leopard-sized species is known, ''Paramachaerodus orientalis'' from the Turolian. A second species, ''Paramachairodus maximiliani'', has been considered a synonym of ''Paramachaerodus orientalis'' by some authors, but was considered a valid species in the most recent systematic revision. That revision, based on an extensive morphological analysis, also determined that the species ''P. ogygia'' exhibited less derived sabertooth features than the other ''Paramachairodus'' species and should be assigned to a separate genus, ''Promegantereon''. A third species, ''Paramachairodus transasiaticus'', has recently been described based on analy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Machairodus
''Machairodus'' (from el, μαχαίρα , 'knife' and el, ὀδούς 'tooth') is a genus of large machairodontine saber-toothed cats that lived in Africa, Eurasia and North America during the late Miocene. It is the animal from which the subfamily Machairodontinae gets its name and has since become a wastebasket taxon over the years as many genera of sabertooth cat have been and are still occasionally lumped into it. Discovery ''Machairodus'' was first named in 1832, by German Naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup. Though its remains had been known since 1824, it was believed by Georges Cuvier that the fossils had come from a species of bear, which he called ''Ursus cultridens'' (known today as ''Megantereon'') based on composite sample of teeth from different countries, species and geologic ages, leading to what would become a long series of complications. Kaup however, recognized the teeth as those of felids and promptly reclassified the existing specimens as ''Machairodus'', incl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
