Panthera_principialis

<i>Panthera principialis</i>

Panthera principialis

Extinct species of carnivore

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]

Quick Facts Scientific classification, Binomial name ...

Taxonomy & evolution

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

Description

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

References

  1. [1]
    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.


This felid-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Panthera_principialis, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.