Stenailurus is an extinct genus of metailurin machairodontine (saber-toothed) cat from the Late Miocene (the Turolian, specifically) of Spain. It contains a single species, Stenailurus teilhardi . It was described based on a piece of maxilla in 1972.[1]

Stenailurus
Temporal range: Late Miocene (Turolian)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Machairodontinae
Tribe: Metailurini
Genus: Stenailurus
Crusafont-Pairo & Aguirre, 1972
Type species
Stenailurus teilhardi
Crusafont-Pairo & Aguirre, 1972

Discovery and naming

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The generic name Stenailurus honors Bl. Niels Steensen, considered the father of paleontology, combined with the Greek αἴλουρος/ailurus meaning "cat". The specific name teilhardi honors paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.[1]

Classification

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Position of Stenailurus in Metailurini according to a 2018 phylogenetic analysis:[2]

Metailurini

References

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  1. ^ a b Crusafont-Pairo, M.; Aguirre, E. (1972). "Stenailurus, Félidé nouveau du Turolien d'Éspagne" [Stenailurus, A New Felid of the Turolian of Spain]. Annales de Paléontologie (in French). 58 (2): 211–223. OCLC 314072653.
  2. ^ Piras, Paolo; Silvestro, Daniele; Carotenuto, Francesco; Castiglione, Silvia; Kotsakis, Anastassios; Maiorino, Leonardo; Melchionna, Marina; Mondanaro, Alessandro; Sansalone, Gabriele; Serio, Carmela; Vero, Veronica Anna; Raia, Pasquale (2018). "Evolution of the sabertooth mandible: A deadly ecomorphological specialization". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 496: 166–174. Bibcode:2018PPP...496..166P. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2018.01.034. hdl:2158/1268434.