- Proailurus
__NOEDITSECTION__Taxobox
name = "Proailurus"
fossil_range = LateOligocene to EarlyMiocene
image_width = 250px
regnum =Animalia
phylum =Chordata
classis =Mammal ia
ordo =Carnivora
superfamilia =Feloidea
genus = †"Proailurus"
genus_authority = Filhol,1879
species = †"P. lemanensis"
species_authority = Filhol,1879 "Proailurus" was a prehistoric
carnivore that lived in Europe and Asia approximately 25 million years ago in the LateOligocene andMiocene . One recentphylogeny [cite journal | last = Wesley-Hunt | first = Gina D. | coauthors = Flynn, John J. | title = Phylogeny of the Carnivora: basal relationships among the Carnivoramorphans, and assessment of the position of ‘Miacoidea’ relative to Carnivora | journal = Journal of Systematic Palaeontology | volume = 3 | pages = 1–28 | date = 2005 | doi = 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2005.00194.x] places it as a basal member of theFeloidea , the superfamily that includes mongooses, civets, hyenas, and cats; but other studies suggest that it instead was a felid (a true cat). [cite journal | last = Rothwell | first = Tom | title = Phylogenetic Systematics of North American "Pseudaelurus" (Carnivora: Felidae) | journal = American Museum Novitates | volume = 2403 | pages = 1–64 | date = 2003 | doi = 10.1206/0003-0082(2003)403<0001:PSONAP>2.0.CO;2]"Proailurus" was a compact and small animal, just a little larger than the domestic cat, weighing about 20 lb (9 kg). It had a long tail, large eyes and sharp claws and teeth, with similar proportions to the modern viverrids. Its claws would have been retractable to some extent. Like the viverrids, "Proailurus" was at least partially arboreal. [cite book |last=Turner |first=Alan |year=1997 |title= The Big Cats and their fossil relatives|publisher= Columbia University Press|location=New York|pages= 25|isbn= 0-231-10228-3]
"Proailurus", a likely ancestor of "
Pseudaelurus " which lived 20-10 million years ago, probably gave rise to the major felid lines, including the extinct machairodontines and the extant felines and pantherines, although thephylogeny of the cats is still not precisely known. [cite journal | last = Christiansen | first = Per | title = Phylogeny of the great cats (Felidae: Pantherinae), and the influence of fossil taxa and missing characters | journal = Cladistics | date = 2008 | doi = 10.1111/j.1096-0031.2008.00226.x ]References
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