Pseudaelurus

''Pseudaelurus'' is a prehistoric cat that lived in Europe, Asia and North America in the Miocene between approximately twenty and eight million years ago. It is considered to be a paraphyletic grade ancestral to living felines and pantherines as well as the extinct machairodonts (saber-tooths), and is a successor to '' Proailurus''. It originated from Eurasia and was the first cat to reach North America, when it entered the continent at about 18.5  Ma ending a ' cat-gap' of 7 million years. The slender proportions of the animal, together with its short, viverrid-like legs, suggest that it may have been an agile climber of trees.

Species and distribution

''Pseudaelurus quadridentatus'' weighed about and was approximately the size of a cougar.

''Pseudaelurus guangheensis'' from the middle Miocene of Gansu (China) and ''Pseudaelurus cuspidatus'' from the middle Miocene of Xinjiang (China) are reported.

Taxonomy and phylogeny

Traditionally all the ''Pseudaelurus''-grade species from Europe, Asia, and North America have been assigned to a single genus, even though the paraphyletic nature of the group has often being noted. Several authorities have split ''Pseudaelurus'' into separate genera or subgenera, including '' Hyperailurictis'', ''Styriofelis'', ''Miopanthera'' and ''Schizailurus''. These different groups of ''Pseudaelurus''-grade felids are often considered to have given rise to later felid lineages.

The genus ''Styriofelis'' was originally proposed in 1929 by Kretzoi for the species ''Pseudaelurus turnaeunsis''. Kretzoi also proposed the genus ''Hyperailurictis'' for the North American species ''Pseudaelurus intrepidus'', and ''Miopanthera'' for ''Ps. lorteti''. In 1964, Beaumont elaborated on Kretzoi's proposal and split ''Pseudaelurus'' into three separate genera: ''Pseudaelurus'' for the European ''Ps. quadridentatus'', ''Schizailurus'' for ''Ps. lorteti'', and ''Hyperailurictis'' for ''Ps. intrepidus''.

Taxonomic history

In 1843, the paleontologist de Blainville published a description of a felid cranium and lower jaw fragment from Sansan, France. He assigned these fossils to a new species, ''Felis quadridentata''. The cranium was later reassigned to another species, but in 1850 the lower jaw fragment was assigned to a new genus by Paul Gervais as ''Pseudaelurus quadridentatus'', due to having certain primitive features.

In 1858, Joseph Leidy described the species ''Felis intrepidus'', from North America, and reassigned the species as ''Pseudaelurus intrepidus'' in 1869. After that discovery, another eight species of ''Pseudaelurus'' would be described in North America, but only five are still considered valid.

In 1872, Henri Filhol described the species ''Pseudaelurus edwardsi'' from France, but the species was reassigned to the nimravid genus ''Eofelis'' in 2000.

In 1882, a second species from Europe was described as ''Pseudaelurus turauensis'', and a third species, ''Pseudaelurus lorteti'', in 1899. The fourth European species, ''Pseudaelurus romieviensis'', was described in 1934. In addition, the species ''Pseudaelurus transitorius'' was described in 1892, but most later authors considered it a synonym of ''P. turnaeunsis''.

In 1914, fossils from Africa were described and assigned to the species ''Pseudaelurus africanus''. However, the species was later reassigned to first the genus ''Metailurus'' and finally to '' Afrosmilus''.

In Asia, the first description of ''Pseudaelurus'' was in 1910, when a fragmentary fossil was assigned to ''Pseudaelurus chinjiensis''; however, it was reassigned in 1915 to the new genus '' Sivaelurus''. The next appearance of ''Pseudaelurus''-grade felids in Asia wasn't until 1986, when a lower jaw fragment and some dental fragments were assigned to the species ''Pseudaelurus lorteti''. In 1990, the species ''Pseudaelurus guangheensis'' was described. In 1998, a second Asian species, ''Pseudaelurus cuspidatus'', was also described. Both of the Asian species are known only from fragmentary fossils.

In 1998, while measuring fragmentary fossils from the Hsanda-Gol locality in Mongolia, Robert Hunt referred a lower jaw fragment to ''Proailurus'' sp.; while this was reassigned to the nimravid genus ''Eofelis'' in 1999 instead, a 2004 review of felid material from other localities in Mongolia suggested that it could belong to ''Pseudaelurus cuspidatus'' instead, on basis of having similar features. However, the Hsanda-Gol specimen is dated back to the Oligocene, while ''Pseudaelurus cuspidatus'' is found solely in Miocene-aged localities. The same paper also described a pair of fragments (a lower jaw fragment and a metapodial) and attributed them to ''Pseudaelurus'' sp.

In 2010, a review of the Felidae as a whole suggested that ''Pseudaelurus'' be split into three genera: ''Hyperailurictis'' for the five North American species, ''Styriofelis'' for two of the European species (''P. lorteti'' and ''P. turnaunensis''), and ''Pseudaelurus'' ''sensu stricto'' for ''P. quadridentatus''. The status of ''P. romieviensis'', ''P. guangheensis'', and ''P. cuspidatus'' was given as uncertain. In addition, ''Miopanthera'' and ''Schizailurus'' were recognized as junior synonyms of ''Styriofelis''.

In 2012, a new species ''Styriofelis vallesiensis'' was described based on a specimen found in Spain. However, a review of the species in 2017 concluded that ''Leptofelis'' was sufficiently different from other ''Styriofelis'' species as to require a separate genus. It was thus reassigned to the new genus '' Leptofelis'' as ''Leptofelis vallesiensis''.

In 2017, a review of the species ''Felis pamiri'', which was named based on a snout fragment from Turkey and dated to the late Miocene, concluded that ''Felis pamiri'' and ''Pseudaelurus lorteti'' were likely closely related to each other, and ancestral to the ''Panthera'' lineage. Both species were reassigned to the genus '' Miopanthera'' as ''Miopanthera lorteti'' and ''Miopanthera pamiri''.

Phylogeny

The following cladogram is based on Piras et al. (2013) and illustrates the three more derived lineages that evolved from "''Pseudaelurus''" species.

References

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{{Taxonbar, from=Q132747

Prehistoric felids
Miocene felids
Tortonian extinctions
Miocene mammals of Europe
Miocene mammals of North America
Prehistoric carnivoran genera
Burdigalian first appearances
Fossil taxa described in 1850