Felis lunensis,or theMartelli's catis anextinctfelidof the subfamilyFelinae.
| Felis lunensis | |
|---|---|
| |
| Fragment off. lunensisfossilized jawbone, at Museo di Paleontologia di Firenze | |
Scientific classification
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Feliformia |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Subfamily: | Felinae |
| Genus: | Felis |
| Species: | †F. lunensis
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Felis lunensis Martelli,1906
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Felis silvestris lunensis | |
Evolution and taxonomy
editAround 12 million years ago, the genusFelisappeared and eventually gave rise to many of the modern small cats.Felis lunensiswas one of the first modernFelisspecies, appearing around 2.5 million years ago in thePliocene.Fossil specimens ofF. lunensishave been recovered inItalyandHungary.[1]Fossil evidence suggests the modern European wildcatFelis silvestrismay have evolved fromF. lunensisduring the Middle Pleistocene.[2]This has resulted inF. lunensisoccasionally being considered a subspecies ofFelis silvestris.
Felis lunensisfirstdescribedbyAlessandro Martelliin 1906 was amandibleexcavatedin Pliocene deposits near Olivola inTuscany.[3]Theholotypespecimen is now preserved in the collection of theUniversity of Florencein Italy.[4]
References
edit- ^ab"Felis lunensis".The Paleobiology Database.Archived fromthe originalon 17 October 2012.Retrieved14 March2010.
- ^Yamaguchi, Nobuyuki; Driscoll, Carlos A.; Kitchener, Andrew C.; Ward, Jennifer M.; Macdonald, David W. (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 "(PDF).Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.83(1): 47–63.doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2004.00372.x.S2CID86414815.
- ^Martelli, A. (1906)."Su due Mustelidi e un Felide del Pliocene Toscano"[About two Mustelids and one Felid of Pliocene Toscana].Bollettino della Società Geologica Italiana.25:595–612.
- ^Cioppi, E.; Mazzini, M. (1983)."Part II: Carnivora, Felidae".Atti della Societa Toscana di Scienze Naturali Residente in Pisa.Catalogue of type specimens in the vertebrate collections of the museum of geology and paleontology of the University of Florence (Italy).90:227–236.
Further reading
edit- Lewis, Mark; Pacher, Martina; Turner, Alana (December 2010). "The Larger Carnivora of the West Runton Freshwater Bed".Quaternary International.228(1–2): 116–135.Bibcode:2010QuInt.228..116L.doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2010.06.022.
- Petronio, Carmelo; Angelone, Chiara; Atzori, Pietro; Famiani, Federico; Kotsakis, Tassos; Salari, Leonardo (15 October 2020). "Review and New Data of the Fossil Remains from Monte Peglia (Late Early Pleistocene, Central Italy)".Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia.126(3).doi:10.13130/2039-4942/14413.
- Allred, Alexandra Powe (May 14, 2014).Cats' Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Mysterious Mousers, Talented Tabbies, and Feline Oddities.Potomac Books.ISBN9781612342931.
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