Panthera blytheae
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| Panthera blytheae Temporal range: Messinian-Zanclean |
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|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Genus: | Panthera |
| Species: | †P. blytheae |
| Binomial name | |
| Panthera blytheae Tseng et al., 2013 |
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Panthera blytheae is an extinct feline of the late Miocene and early Pliocene epochs. Skull fragments of the species have been dated to between 4.1 and 5.95 million years old. They are the oldest big cat fossils ever found, and were discovered during an expedition to the remote Zanda Basin in southwestern Tibet in 2010.[1][2]
The species is named for Blythe Haaga, daughter of Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County benefactors Paul and Heather Haaga, who bid for the naming rights during a museum auction.[1]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Geoffrey Mohan (November 12, 2013). "Oldest big cat fossils suggest species first roared in Asia". LA Times. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
- ^ James Morgan (November 13, 2013). "Oldest big cat fossil found in Tibet". BBC News. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
- Z. Jack Tseng, Xiaoming Wang, Graham J. Slater, Gary T. Takeuchi, Qiang Li, Juan Liu, Guangpu Xie (7 January 2014). "Himalayan fossils of the oldest known pantherine establish ancient origin of big cats". Proceedings of the Royal Society B 281 (1774): 20132686. doi:10.1098/rspb.2013.2686.
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