''Panthera principialis'' is an extinct species in big cat genus ''

Panthera ''Panthera'' is a genus within the family (biology), family Felidae, and one of two extant genera in the subfamily Pantherinae. It contains the largest living members of the cat family. There are five living species: the jaguar, leopard, lion, ...

'' described in 2023 based on fragmentary

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

. As the species was the oldest known ''Panthera'' species at the time, it was given the specific epithet "principialis", from the Latin word meaning "initial, original, in the beginning".

Taxonomy & evolution

The fossils on which ''P. principialis'' was based had previously been assigned to the species ''

Panthera leo The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the tip of its tail. It is ...

'', ''

Panthera gombaszoegensis ''Panthera gombaszoegensis'', also known as the European jaguar, is a ''Panthera'' species that lived from about 2.0 to 0.3 million years ago in Europe, as well as likely elsewhere in Eurasia. The first fossils were Excavation (archaeology), exca ...

'', and '' Panthera palaeosinensis''.

Description

''Panthera principialis'' was a lion-sized cat.

References

principialis principialis Pliocene carnivorans Fossil taxa described in 2023 Mammals described in 2023 {{Feline-stub