Paleontologists from the CSIC National Museum of Natural History have identified a new genus and species of medium-sized cat from a partial jaw found in the urban area of Madrid, Spain.
Mandible, skull, masticatory muscles, and life-like reconstruction Mageliferis Pegnai. Image credit: Jesus Gamarra.
A new breed of cat, its name is Mageliferis Pegnailived in what is now Spain about 15.5 million years ago (mid Miocene).
It belonged to the Felidae family, small cats with bony hyoid bones that can purr but cannot roar.
“Mageliferis Pegnai It is a sister group of a clade consisting of. Pristiferis atticaextant species of the genus Ferris (like Feliz Margarita, felis sylvestrisand Felice Ribica), Proferis Aurataand Lynx” said lead author Dr. Manuel Salesa of the National Science Museum-CSIC and his colleagues.
Fossilized remains are Mageliferis Pegnai They were discovered in 2007 at Príncipe Pio-2, a recently discovered fossil locality located in the urban limits of the city of Madrid, Spain.
The specimen is very well preserved, showing a complete hemimandible and all teeth except the incisors.
It is very complete and in very good preservation, providing very interesting information for making paleoecological inferences about this new feline.
“We recovered a nearly complete jaw with almost all teeth preserved in exceptional condition,” Dr. Siliceo said.
“What was most surprising was that underneath it was a small second molar, a tooth that does not exist in all modern and fossil cats. pro airlus”
Estimated weight is Mageliferis Pegnai It weighs 7.61 kg, which falls within the female weight range. Lynx Rufus, Reptile Lus Servaland caracal caracal.
“Compared to modern cats, the half-jaw of cats is Mageliferis Pegnai Principe’s Pío-2 is felis sylvestrisindicates a similar size. caracal caracal, Reptile Lus Servaland Lynx” said the paleontologists.
“Nevertheless, if we show the mandibles of these species with the same mandibular length for ease of comparison, the dentition of the new species is clearly smaller than that of the latter species, giving the specimen a more robust appearance; Has a relatively robust appearance; high mandibular body very similar to larger mandibular body Lynx”
According to the authors: Mageliferis Pegnai It is thought that they were able to generate a powerful bite force when hunting, which allowed them to kill relatively large prey.
“The Principe pio-2 feline may have preyed on relatively larger prey than other extant felines of similar size,” the researchers said.
Their paper this month Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
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Manuel J. Salesa other. Unraveling the diversity of early cats: A new genus of cats (Carnivora, Felidae) from the mid-Miocene of Madrid (Spain). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, published online on January 9, 2024. doi: 10.1080/02724634.2023.2288924