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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''-g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hyperailurictis
''Hyperailurictis'' is an extinct genus of felid from Miocene North America. The ''Hyperailurictis'' species are ''Pseudaelurus''-grade Grade most commonly refers to: * Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance * Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage * Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope Grade or grading may also r ... felids and thought to be the first felids in the Americas. Taxonomy and Evolution Taxonomic history In 1858, the paleontologist Joseph Leidy described a new species of cat, ''Felis intrepidus'', based on lower jaw fragments (a left ramus, described, and a right ramus, mentioned only and now lost) found somewhere in Nebraska near the Niobrara river. The fragments were later determined to have come from the lower Valentine Formation, making them late Barstovian in age. Leidy reassigned the specimens to ''Pseudaelurus'' as ''Pseudaelurus intrepidus'' in a 1869 paper. In 1873, an expedition collec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Felidae
Felidae () is the family of mammals in the order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats, and constitutes a clade. 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 ('' Felis catus''). Felidae species exhibit the most diverse fur pattern of all terrestrial carnivores. Cats have retractile claws, slender muscular bodies and strong flexible forelimbs. Their teeth and facial muscles allow for a powerful bite. They are all obligate carnivores, and most are solitary predators ambushing or stalking their prey. Wild cats occur in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas. Some wild cat species are adapted to forest habitats, some to arid environments, and a few also to wetlands and mountainous terrain. Their activity patterns range from nocturnal and crepuscular to diurnal, depending on their preferred prey species. Reginald Innes Pocock divided the extant Felidae into three subfamilies: th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Styriofelis
''Styriofelis'' is an extinct genus of Felidae known from the Miocene of Europe. Taxonomy In 1882, a species of ''Pseudaelurus'' from Europe was described as ''Pseudaelurus turnauensis''. Another species, ''Pseudaelurus lorteti'', was described in 1899. The species ''Pseudaelurus transitorius'' was described in 1892, but most authors considered it a synonym of ''P. turnauensis''. In 1929, Kretzoi proposed the genus ''Styriofelis'' for ''P. turnauensis'', but this proposal was largely ignored. Kretzoi also proposed the genus ''Miopanthera'' for ''P. lorteti'', but Beaumont, during his proposal of splitting ''Pseudaelurus'', ignored Kretzoi and placed the two species in his own genus ''Schizailurus''. Subsequently, ''Schizailurus'' has been considered a junior synonym of both ''Styriofelis'' and ''Miopanthera''. In 2010, a review of the family Felidae suggested that ''Pseudaelurus'' be split into three separate genera, including ''Styriofelis'' for ''P. turnauensis'' and ''P. lor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proailurus
''Proailurus'' is an extinct felid genus that lived in Europe and Asia approximately 25 million years ago in the Late Oligocene and Miocene. Fossils have been found in Mongolia, Germany, and Spain. Etymology The generic name ''Proailurus'' comes from the Greek , meaning 'before', and , meaning 'cat'. The specific name of ''P. bourbonnensis'' simply means "from the Bourbonnais". Description ''Proailurus lemanensis'' was a compact and small animal, just a little larger than the domestic cat, weighing about 20 lb (9 kg). It had a long tail, large eyes and sharp claws and teeth, with similar proportions to the modern viverrids. Its claws would have been retractable to some extent. Like the viverrids, ''Proailurus'' was at least partially arboreal. ''Proailurus major'' is estimated to have been significantly larger, about 23 kg. The p4 tooth is stronger and the m1 is less elongated than in ''P. lemanensis''. ''Proailurus bourbonnensis'' was a smaller species, estimated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miopanthera
''Miopanthera'' is an extinct genus of '' Pseudaelurus''-grade felids. Taxonomy The genus ''Miopanthera'' was first proposed in 1938 by Kretzoi for the species ''Pseudaelurus lorteti''. ''P. lorteti'' had previously been described as such in 1899, upon the discovery of fossils in Europe. However, Kretzoi's proposal was largely ignored by later authors. A 2010 review of the Felidae proposed splitting the genus ''Pseudaelurus'' in three, and suggested assigning ''P. lorteti'' to the genus ''Styriofelis'' alongside ''P. turnauensis''. Another species, ''Felis pamiri'', was described in 1965 based on a snout fragment found in Turkey. The locality at which it was found was estimated to be from the late Miocene, about 9.9 Ma. After its original description, no further material was assigned to the species. In 2017, a review of the species ''Felis pamiri'' concluded that it was likely closely related to ''S. lorteti'', and reassigned both species to the genus ''Miopanthera''. The paper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cat-gap
The cat gap is a period in the fossil record of approximately 25 million to 18.5 million years ago in which there are few fossils of cats or cat-like species found in North America. The cause of the "cat gap" is disputed, but it may have been caused by changes in the climate (global cooling), changes in the habitat and environmental ecosystem, the increasingly hypercarnivorous trend of the cats (especially the nimravids), volcanic activity, evolutionary changes in dental morphology of the Canidae species present in North America, or a periodicity of extinctions called van der Hammen cycles. Cat evolution All modern carnivorans, including cats, evolved from miacoids, which existed from approximately 66 to 33 million years ago. There were other earlier cat-like species but ''Proailurus'' (meaning "before the cat"; also called "Leman's Dawn Cat"), which appeared about 30 million years ago, is generally considered the first "true cat". The increase in disparity through ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smilodon Fatalis
''Smilodon'' is a genus of the extinct machairodont subfamily of the felids. It is one of the most famous prehistoric mammals and the best known saber-toothed cat. Although commonly known as the saber-toothed tiger, it was not closely related to the tiger or other modern cats. ''Smilodon'' lived in the Americas during the Pleistocene epoch (2.5 mya – 10,000 years ago). The genus was named in 1842 based on fossils from Brazil; the generic name means "scalpel" or "two-edged knife" combined with "tooth". Three species are recognized today: ''S. gracilis'', ''S. fatalis'', and ''S. populator''. The two latter species were probably descended from ''S. gracilis'', which itself probably evolved from ''Megantereon''. The hundreds of individuals obtained from the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles constitute the largest collection of ''Smilodon'' fossils. Overall, ''Smilodon'' was more robustly built than any extant cat, with particularly well-developed forelimbs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sivaelurus
''Sivaelurus'' is an extinct genus of felid. The type and only species, ''S. chinjiensis'', was described based on a fragmentary fossil found in Asia. It was originally described as ''Pseudaelurus chinjiensis'' in 1910, but was reassigned to a new genus in 1915. A 2020 study of newfound material from the region suggested that the species ''Miopanthera ''Miopanthera'' is an extinct genus of '' Pseudaelurus''-grade felids. Taxonomy The genus ''Miopanthera'' was first proposed in 1938 by Kretzoi for the species ''Pseudaelurus lorteti''. ''P. lorteti'' had previously been described as such in 189 ... lorteti'' be reassigned to this genus; it also described fragmentary material referable to ''Sivaelurus'' sp. References Prehistoric felids Fossil taxa described in 1915 Prehistoric carnivoran genera {{paleo-carnivora-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Machairodontinae
Machairodontinae is an extinct subfamily of carnivoran mammals of the family Felidae (true cats). They were found in Asia, Africa, North America, South America, and Europe from the Miocene to the Pleistocene, living from about 16 million until about 11,000 years ago. The Machairodontinae contain many of the extinct predators commonly known as "saber-toothed cats", including the famed genus '' Smilodon'', as well as other cats with only minor increases in the size and length of their maxillary canines. The name means "dagger-tooth", from Greek μάχαιρα (''machaira''), sword. Sometimes, other carnivorous mammals with elongated teeth are also called saber-toothed cats, although they do not belong to the felids. Besides the machairodonts, other saber-toothed predators also arose in the nimravids, barbourofelids, machaeroidines, hyaenodonts and even in two groups of metatherians (the thylacosmilid sparassodonts and the deltatheroideans). Evolution Family Felidae ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Paul Gervais
Paul Gervais full name François Louis Paul Gervais (26 September 1816 – 10 February 1879) was a French palaeontologist and entomologist. Biography Gervais was born in Paris, where he obtained the diplomas of doctor of science and of medicine, and in 1835 he began palaeontological research as assistant in the laboratory of comparative anatomy at the ''Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle''. In 1841 he obtained the chair of zoology and comparative anatomy at the Faculty of Sciences in Montpellier, of which he was in 1856 appointed dean. In 1848–1852 appeared his important work ''Zoologie et paléontologie françaises'', supplementary to the palaeontological publications of Georges Cuvier and Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville; of this a second and greatly improved edition was issued in 1859. In 1865 he accepted the professorship of zoology at the Sorbonne, vacant through the death of Louis Pierre Gratiolet; this post he left in 1868 for the chair of comparative anatomy at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Pog
Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when observing light with a dominant wavelength between approximately 450 and 495 nanometres. Most blues contain a slight mixture of other colours; azure contains some green, while ultramarine contains some violet. The clear daytime sky and the deep sea appear blue because of an optical effect known as Rayleigh scattering. An optical effect called Tyndall effect explains blue eyes. Distant objects appear more blue because of another optical effect called aerial perspective. Blue has been an important colour in art and decoration since ancient times. The semi-precious stone lapis lazuli was used in ancient Egypt for jewellery and ornament and later, in the Renaissance, to make the pigment ultramarine, the most expensive of all pigments. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
