| Magerifelis Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Feliformia |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Subfamily: | Felinae |
| Genus: | †Magerifelis Salesa et al., 2024 |
| Type species | |
| Magerifelis peignei Salesa et al., 2024 | |
Magerifelis is an extinct genus of feline with only one species assigned to it, Magerifelis peignei. It was described in 2024 based on seven fossils from the middle Miocene of Spain and France.
History and naming
Several of the fossils had previously been assigned to other species such as Styriofelis turnauensis. In 2024, a group of researchers described and named the new genus and species Magerifelis peignei after finding the holotype fossil (05/101/2/3622) at the Príncipe Pío-2 locality near Madrid, Spain. Other fossils already known, from France, were reassigned to the new species.[1]
The generic name Magerifelis is a combination of "Magerit", the original name for Madrid, and the Latin word felis meaning "cat". The specific name peignei honors the French paleontologist Stéphane Peigné, a deceased colleague and friend of the describing authors.[1]
Description
All the known fossils of Magerifelis are hemimandibles, with or without various teeth intact. The species was described as having a relatively small lower canine tooth, with an absent or severely reduced second premolar, third and fourth premolars present, and the first molar present, and second molar also present but reduced.[1]
Classification
Salesa et al. assigned Magerifelis to the subfamily Felinae in the cat family Felidae. They also recovered it in a small cladogram as outside of a clade containing several extant cat species, but more derived than some other known fossil species:[1]
| Felidae |
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Palaeobiology
Based on its holotype, Magerifelis peignei was estimated to weigh about 7.61 kilograms (16.8 lb), though the researchers suggested that the robustness of the hemimandible indicated that the actual body weight was higher.[1]
Palaeoecology
Like similarly-sized modern cats, Magerifelis likely preyed on rodents, birds, lagomorphs, and small mustelids, all of which have been recorded from the Príncipe Pío-2 site.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Salesa, Manuel J.; Gamarra, Jesús; Siliceo, Gema; Antón, Mauricio; Morales, Jorge (2024). "Unraveling the diversity of early felines: A new genus of Felinae (Carnivora, Felidae) from the Middle Miocene of Madrid (Spain)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. doi:10.1080/02724634.2023.2288924.