''Lynx issiodorensis'', sometimes called the Issoire lynx, is an extinct species of lynx that inhabited

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

during the late

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...

epochs, and may have originated in Africa during the late

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Issoire Issoire (; Auvergnat: ''Issoire'', ''Ussoire'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. Geography Issoire is located on the river Couze, near its confluence with the Allier, SSE of Clermont-Ferrand on the ...

where the first remains were found. It probably became extinct during the end of the last glacial period. It is generally considered as the ancestor of all four species of lynx alive today. Its skeleton resembled that of living lynxes, but it had shorter and more robust limbs, with a larger head and longer neck. As a result, the Issoire lynx more closely resembled a typical member of the cat family than do its extant descendants. In 1945, another lynx species, ''Lynx shansius'', was described based on fossils from Asia. However, in 1984 a reexamination of the ''L. shansius'' material determined it to be synonymous with ''L. issiodorensis''.

References

issiodorensis Fossil taxa described in 1828 Pliocene carnivorans Pleistocene carnivorans Prehistoric felines Quaternary mammals of Europe {{feline-stub