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. lorteti''. The status of ''Pseudaelurus romieviensis'', the fourth European species, was left uncertain due to the fragmentary state of the specimens assigned to it.

In 2012, a new species of ''Pseudaelurus''-grade felid found in Spain was described as ''Styriofelis vallesiensis''. In 2017, however, a review of the species concluded that it was sufficiently different as to require a separate genus, and was reassigned to the new genus ''Leptofelis'' as ''Leptofelis vallesiensis''.

Also in 2017, a review of the species ''Felis pamiri'' concluded that ''F. pamiri'' and ''S. lorteti'' were closely related, and were also distinct enough to both be reassigned to the genus ''Miopanthera''.

References

Prehistoric felids
Prehistoric carnivoran genera

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