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Asilifelis
''Asilifelis'' is an extinct genus of small felid that lived in what is now Kenya during the Early Miocene. Despite its fragmentary remains, it is remarkable because of its small size and advanced dentition. It contains a single species, ''Asilifelis cotae''. Discovery and naming ''Asilifelis'' is only known from a single specimen: KNM RU 18349, a mandibular ramus, including the well-preserved teeth p4-m1, which is stored in the National Museums of Kenya. The fossil was discovered in rocks of the Hiwegi Formation on Rusinga Island in 1949, but was subsequently only mentioned once in scientific literature until its description by Lars Werdelin in 2012. The generic name is a combination of Swahili asili ("origin") and Latin felis ("cat"). The species name "cotae" honors Susanne Cote, who inspired Werdelin's interest in Miocene Africa. Description ''Asilifelis'' is much smaller than other Early Miocene felids, comparable in size to the smallest extant species, such as the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Katifelis
''Katifelis'' is an extinct genus of felids that lived in what is now Kenya during the Early Miocene and is notable for its dental features, which are intermediate between basal and modern cats. It contains a single species, ''Katifelis nightingalei''. Discovery and naming The holotype; and so far only fossil, of ''Katifelis'' was discovered at the locality Kalodirr, which is part of the Lothidok Formation. The site is dated to 17.5 ± 0.2 Ma – 16.8 ± 0.2 Ma and located in West Turkana, Kenya. The type specimen KNM-WK17133 is a left mandibular fragment, containing the teeth p1-m1. Described in 2018, it is the second felid with transitional traits known from Early Miocene Africa, alongside the slightly older '' Asilifelis''. After the appearance of ''Katifelis'' during the late Burdigalian there are no fossil records of any African felids until the appearance of '' Machairodus'' around 12.5 Ma. The generic name is a combination of Swahili ''Kati'' (“intermediate”), ref ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diamantofelis
''Diamantofelis'' is an extinct genus of felids that lived in what is now Namibia during the Early Miocene. It contains a single species, ''Diamantofelis ferox.'' Discovery and naming This genus was described in 1998 on the basis of remains discovered at the locality of Arrisdrift in Namibia, which has been dated to 17.5 – 17 Ma. The holotype (AD 98'95), is a left mandible which includes the canine and cheek teeth. In 2003 various postcranial remains belonging to this genus were described. These include the first phalanx (AD 601'99) as well as, the proximal end of a left ulna (AD 112'94) Furthermore, the fragments of another ulna (AM 2'99), found at the slightly older locality Auchas, which dates to ca. 19 Ma, were referred to ''Diamantofelis''. A second species named ''Diamantofelis minor'' was originally described from the same locality, but has since been moved to the genus '' Namafelis''. These two genera are notable for being the first, and until the description of ''A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hiwegi Formation
The Hiwegi Formation is a geological formation on Rusinga Island in Kenya preserving fossils dating to the Early Miocene period. The Hiwegi Formation is known for the well preserved plant fossils it preserves, which indicate a tropical forest environment that underwent wet and dry periods. The middle members of the formation in particular indicate a brief period in which conditions were notably dryer with a more open environment compared to older and younger units. Some of the formation's fauna, such as an early ancestor of the modern aye-aye and a chameleon of the genus ''Calumma'', link Miocene East Africa to modern day Madagascar. History The first discovery of fossil material by western researchers was documented in the early 20th century in the form of a British colonial report on the East Africa Protectorate. Excavations for fossils began in the 1930s with the work of Louis Leakey, followed by the British-Kenya Miocene Expedition. A major factor in the exploration of Rusing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Felinae
The Felinae are a subfamily of the family Felidae. This subfamily comprises the small cats having a bony hyoid, because of which they are able to purr but not roar. Other authors have proposed an alternative definition for this subfamily: as comprising only the living conical-toothed cat genera with two tribes, the Felini and Pantherini; thus excluding all fossil cat species. Characteristics The members of the Felinae have retractile claws that are protected by at least one cutaneous lobe. Their larynx is kept close to the base of the skull by an ossified hyoid. They can purr owing to the vocal folds being shorter than . The cheetah '' Acinonyx'' does not have cutaneous sheaths for guarding claws. Taxonomy The term 'Felini' was first used in 1817 by Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim, at the time for all the cat species that had been proposed as belonging to the genus ''Felis''. In 1917, Reginald Innes Pocock Reginald Innes Pocock F.R.S. (4 March 1863 – 9 August 1947) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burdigalian
The Burdigalian is, in the geologic timescale, an age or stage in the early Miocene. It spans the time between 20.43 ± 0.05 Ma and 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma (million years ago). Preceded by the Aquitanian, the Burdigalian was the first and longest warming period of the MioceneEdward Petuch, Ph.D. Florida Atlantic University, Department of Geosciences. and is succeeded by the Langhian. Stratigraphic definition The name Burdigalian comes from ''Burdigala'', the Latin name for the city of Bordeaux, France. The Burdigalian Stage was introduced in scientific literature by Charles Depéret in 1892. The base of the Burdigalian is at the first appearance of foram species ''Globigerinoides altiaperturus'' and the top of magnetic chronozone C6An. , an official GSSP for the Burdigalian had not yet been assigned. The top of the Burdigalian (the base of the Langhian) is defined by the first appearance of foram species ''Praeorbulina glomerosa'' and is also coeval with the top of magnetic chronozo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Felis
''Felis'' is a genus of small and medium-sized cat species native to most of Africa and south of 60° latitude in Europe and Asia to Indochina. The genus includes the domestic cat. The smallest ''Felis'' species is the black-footed cat with a head and body length from . The largest is the jungle cat with a head and body length from . Genetic studies indicate that the Felinae genera ''Felis'', ''Otocolobus'' and '' Prionailurus'' diverged from a Eurasian progenitor of the Felidae about 6.2 million years ago, and that ''Felis'' species split off 3.04 to 0.99 million years ago. Etymology The generic name ''Felis'' is derived from Classical Latin ''fēlis'' meaning "cat, ferret". Taxonomy Carl Linnaeus considered ''Felis'' to comprise all cat species known until 1758. Later taxonomists split the cat family into different genera. In 1917, the British zoologist Reginald Innes Pocock revised the genus ''Felis'' as comprising only the ones listed in the following table. Estimated gen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tenrec
A tenrec is any species of mammal within the afrotherian family Tenrecidae endemic to Madagascar. Tenrecs are wildly diverse; as a result of convergent evolution some resemble hedgehogs, shrews, opossums, rats, and mice. They occupy aquatic, arboreal, terrestrial and fossorial environments. Some of these species, including the greater hedgehog tenrec, can be found in the Madagascar dry deciduous forests. However, the speciation rate in this group has been higher in humid forests. All tenrecs are believed to descend from a common ancestor that lived 29–37 million years ( Ma) ago after rafting over from Africa. The split from their closest relatives, African otter shrews, is estimated to have occurred about 47–53 Ma ago. Etymology The word ''tenrec'' is borrowed, via French, from the Malagasy word (variant of ), which refers to the Tailless tenrec (''Tenrec ecaudatus''); the Malagasy word is related to . Evolution Tenrecs are believed to have evolved from a single spec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rodent
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are native to all major land masses except for New Zealand, Antarctica, and several oceanic islands, though they have subsequently been introduced to most of these land masses by human activity. Rodents are extremely diverse in their ecology and lifestyles and can be found in almost every terrestrial habitat, including human-made environments. Species can be arboreal, fossorial (burrowing), saltatorial/richochetal (leaping on their hind legs), or semiaquatic. However, all rodents share several morphological features, including having only a single upper and lower pair of ever-growing incisors. Well-known rodents include Mouse, mice, rats, squirrels, prairie dogs, porcupines, beavers, guinea pigs, and hamsters. Rabbits, hares, and ... [...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'', in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Namafelis
''Namafelis'' is an extinct genus of felids that lived in what is now Namibia during the Early Miocene. It contains a single species, ''Namafelis minor.'' Closely related to ''Diamantofelis'', it is of “''Pseudaelurus''-grade”, and therefore a rather basal member of the cat family. Discovery and naming Material of this species, including the holotype (AD 99'95), a left mandible including the cheek teeth, was discovered at the locality of Arrisdrift in Namibia, which has been dated to 17.5 – 17 Ma, and originally described as ''Diamantofelis minor.'' However, a 2003 study led by the same authors as its original description came to the conclusion that the differences were pronounced enough to erect the genus ''Namafelis''. It also described an almost complete left radius (AD 115 '98), the so far only known postcranial remains belonging to this taxon. Description ''Namafelis'' is comparable in size to a caracal or a large wildcat, making it significantly smaller than its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Late Miocene
The Late Miocene (also known as Upper Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages. The Tortonian and Messinian stages comprise the Late Miocene sub-epoch, which lasted from 11.63 Ma (million years ago) to 5.333 Ma. The evolution of life The gibbons (family Hylobatidae) and orangutans (genus ''Pongo'') are the first groups to split from the line leading to the hominins, including humans, then gorillas (genus ''Gorilla''), and finally, chimpanzees and bonobo The bonobo (; ''Pan paniscus''), also historically called the pygmy chimpanzee and less often the dwarf chimpanzee or gracile chimpanzee, is an endangered great ape and one of the two species making up the genus '' Pan,'' the other being the co ...s (genus '' Pan''). The splitting date between hominin and chimpanzee lineages is placed by some between 4 to 8 million years ago, that is, during the Late Miocene. References External links GeoWhen Database - Late Miocene .03 03 * * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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