Felis lunensis

Felis lunensis Temporal range: Pliocene to Pleistocene[1] 2.5–.0781 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Felidae
Subfamily:	Felinae
Genus:	Felis
Species:	†F. lunensis
Binomial name
Felis lunensis Martelli, 1906
Synonyms
Felis silvestris lunensis Martelli's Cat

Felis lunensis (Martelli's Cat) is an extinct felid of the subfamily Felinae. Around 12 million years ago, the genus Felis appeared and eventually gave rise to many of the modern small cats. Felis lunensis was one of the first modern Felis species appearing around 2.5 million years ago in the Pliocene. Fossil specimens of F. lunensis have been recovered in Italy and Hungary.^[1] Fossil evidence suggests the modern European wildcat Felis silvestris may have evolved from F. lunensis during the Middle Pleistocene.^[2] This has resulted in F. lunensis occasionally being considered a subspecies of Felis silvestris.

The holotype specimen was first described by the naturalist Martelli in 1906 and is now preserved in the collections of the University of Florence in Italy.^[3]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} The Paleobiology Database Felis lunensis entry Accessed on 14 March 2010
2. ^ Yamaguchi, N.; et al (2004). "Craniological differentiation between European wildcats (Felis silvestris silvestris), African wildcats (F. s. lybica) and Asian wildcats (F. s. ornata): implications for their evolution and conservation". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 83: 47–63. http://www.filogenetica.org/cursos/deluna/morfometria/casos%20de%20estudio/catSkulls.pdf. 
3. ^ Cioppi, E.; Mazzini M. (1983). "Catalogue of type specimens in the vertebrate collections of the museum of geology and paleontology of the University of Florence (Italy). II: Carnivora, Felidae". Atti della Societa Toscana di Scienze Naturali Residente in Pisa 90: 227–236. http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=9188603.