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Panthera principialis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Panthera principialis
Temporal range: Pliocene
~3.7 Ma
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Pantherinae
Genus: Panthera
Species:
P. principialis
Binomial name
Panthera principialis
Hemmer, 2023

Panthera principialis is an extinct species in big cat genus Panthera described in 2023 based on fragmentary Pliocene-aged fossils from Laetoli, Tanzania. 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".[1]

Taxonomy & evolution

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The fossils on which P. principialis was based had previously been assigned to the species Panthera leo, Panthera gombaszoegensis, and Panthera palaeosinensis.[1]

Description

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Panthera principialis was a lion-sized cat.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Hemmer, Helmut (2023). "The identity of the "lion", Panthera principialis sp. nov., from the Pliocene Tanzanian site of Laetoli and its significance for molecular dating the pantherine phylogeny, with remarks on Panthera shawi (Broom, 1948), and a revision of Puma incurva (Ewer, 1956), the Early Pleistocene Swartkrans "leopard" (Carnivora, Felidae)". Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments. 103 (2): 465–487. Bibcode:2023PdPe..103..465H. doi:10.1007/s12549-022-00542-2.