Parailurus

Parailurus Temporal range: Early Pliocene–Late Pliocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Ailuridae
Subfamily:	Ailurinae
Genus:	†Parailurus Schlosser, 1899
Type species
†P. anglicus (Dawkins, 1888)
Species
†P. baikalicus Sotnikova, 2008 †P. tedfordi Wallace & Lyon, 2022 †P. anglicus Dawkins, 1888

Parailurus is a genus of extinct carnivoran mammal in the family Ailuridae. It was about 50% larger than Ailurus (red panda) and lived in the early to late Pliocene Epoch, and its fossils have been found in Europe, North America, and Japan.^[1][2]

The fossils of P. baikalicus carry low-crowned lower molars, along with the main cuspids of the cheek teeth being worn horizontally. This suggests P. baikalicus commonly ate leaves.^[3]

A third species, Parailurus tedfordi, was described in 2022.^[4]

References

1. Goswami, Anjali; Friscia, Anthony, eds. (July 2010). Carnivoran Evolution: New Views on Phylogeny, Form and Function. Cambridge University Press. pp. 117–119. ISBN 978-0-521-51529-0.
2. Fejfar, Oldřich; Sabol, Martin (April 2004). "Pliocene Carnivores (Carnivora, Mammalia) from Ivanovce and Hajnáčka (Slovakia)". Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg. 246: 15–53. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
3. Ogino, Shintaro; Nakaya, Hideo; Takai, Masanaru; Fukuchi, Akira; Maschenko, Evgeny N.; Kalmykov, Nikolai P. (September 30, 2009). "Mandible and Lower Dentition of Parailurus baikalicus (Ailuridae, Carnivora) from Transbaikal area, Russia". Paleontological Research. 13 (3): 259–264. doi:10.2517/1342-8144-13.3.259. ISSN 1342-8144. S2CID 86244485.
4. Wallace, Steven C.; Lyon, Lauren M. (2022). "Systematic revision of the Ailurinae (Mammalia: Carnivora: Ailuridae): With a new species from North America". Red Panda. pp. 31–52. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-823753-3.00011-9. ISBN 9780128237533. S2CID 243818007.

Further reading

• Kundrát, Martin (2011). "Phenotypic and Geographic Diversity of the Lesser Panda Parailurus". Red Panda. pp. 61–87. doi:10.1016/B978-1-4377-7813-7.00005-7. ISBN 9781437778137. S2CID 89029827.