''Sivanasua'' is an extinct genus of carnivorous mammal found across Miocene Europe including

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and the

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. Like other lophocyonids, ''Sivanasua'' had unusual lophodont dentition, meaning the molars had ridges across the grinding surface of the molars, an adaptation believed to be indicative of a herbivorous diet.

Discovery and naming

The first fossils of ''Sivanasua'' from Attenfeld, Germany, were interpreted by Max Schlosser in 1916 as a relative of the red panda. Schlosser named them ''"Aeluravus" viverroides''. However, as the name was already occupied by a glirid, Pilgrim later suggested the name ''Sivanasua'' in its place. Pilgrim simultaneously named two more species from

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and

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, ''S. himalayensis'' and ''S. palaeindica''. Both these species, alongside ''S. nagrii'' (named by Prasad in 1963), were later recovered as primates. Crusafont-Pairó described a species from Spain in 1959 as ''S. antiqua'' and Fejar & Schmidt-Kittler described ''S. moravica'' in 1984.

Phylogeny

The exact relationship between ''Sivanasua'' and other carnivorans has long been debated, with historic hypothesis placing them within

Ailuridae Ailuridae is a family in the mammal order Carnivora. The family consists of the red panda (the sole living representative) and its extinct relatives. Georges Cuvier first described ''Ailurus'' as belonging to the raccoon family in 1825; this cl ...

Procyonidae Procyonidae is a New World family of the order Carnivora. It comprises the raccoons, ringtails, cacomistles, coatis, kinkajous, olingos, and olinguitos. Procyonids inhabit a wide range of environments and are generally omnivorous. Character ...

and even Hyaenodontidae. More recent analysis of the fossil material suggest that lophocyonids were feliforms most closely related to hyenas, represented by ''

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 th ...

'' in the phylogenetic tree depicted below. Within lophocyonids ''Sivanasua'' is a derived member, recovered as a sister taxon to ''Lophocyon'' by Morales et al. (2019). Within the genus, ''S. viverroides'' from Central and Western Europe and ''S. antiqua'' from Spain were recovered as temporally and geographically separated sister taxa, with ''S. moravica'' being their last common ancestor.

Paleoecology

The lophodont dentition observed in ''Sivanasua'' and related lophocyonids such as ''Izmirictis'' suggests adaptations towards a herbivorous lifestyle, with the microwear of the teeth being more similar to that of herbivores than obligate carnivores.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q85990185 Miocene feliforms Miocene mammals of Europe Miocene first appearances Miocene extinctions Prehistoric carnivorans of Europe Prehistoric mammal genera Fossils of Germany Fossils of Austria Fossils of France Fossils of Spain