Sivapanthera

Sivapanthera is a prehistoric genus of felid described by Kretzoi in 1929.[1] Species of Sivapanthera are closely related to the modern cheetah but differ from modern cheetahs by having relatively longer brain cases, flatter foreheads, narrower nostrils and larger teeth. In many ways, skulls of Sivapanthera show similarity to that of the puma, or even those of Panthera. Scholars differ on the validity of this genus, while some think that it should be treated as a distinct genus, others think that its members should be treated as members of the Acinonyx genus, or even as subspecies of Acinonyx pardinensis.[2]

Sivapanthera
Temporal range:
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Felinae
Genus: †Sivapanthera
Kretzoi, 1929
Type species
Sivapanthera brachygnathus
(Lydekker, 1884)
Other Species
  • Sivapanthera potens (Pilgrim, 1932)
  • Sivapanthera pleistocaenicus (Zdansky, 1925)
  • Sivapanthera linxiaensis Qiu et al., 2004
Synonyms
Genus synonymy
  • Abacinonyx Kretzoi, 1929b
  • Sivafelis Pilgrim, 1932
Synonyms of S. potens
  • Sivafelis potens Pilgrim, 1932
Synonyms of S. brachygnathus
  • Felis (?Cynaelurus) brachygnatha Lydekker, 1884
  • Cynaeulurus brachygnathus sensu Pilgrim, 1910
  • Felis brachygnatha sensu Matthew, 1929
  • Acinonyx brachygnathus sensu Kretzoi, 1929a
  • Acinonyx lydekkeri Kretzoi, 1929a
  • Abacinonyx brachygnathus sensu Kretzoi, 1929b
  • Sivafelis brachygnathus sensu Pilgrim, 1932
Synonyms of S. pleistocaenicus
  • Cynailurus pleistocaenicus Zdansky, 1925
  • Acinonyx pleistocaenicus
  • Abacinonyx pleistocaenicus sensu Kretzoi, 1929b
  • Sivafelis pleistocaenicus sensu Pilgrim, 1932

History of taxonomy

In 1884, Lydekker described two rami from the Pinjor Formation as Felis (?Cynaelurus) brachygnatha.[3] And later in 1925, Zdansky described Cynailurus pleistocaenicus based on fossils from Shansi, China.[4]

In 1929, Hungarian palaeontologist Miklos Kretzoi described several new genera and species: in one paper he re-assigned Felis (Cynaelurus) brachygnatha as Acinonyx brachygnathus, re-described one of its two referred specimens as the new genus and species Sivapanthera lydekkeri;[1] then in a second paper, he described the genus Abacinonyx for Cynailurus pleistocaenicus (the type species) and Felis (Cynaelurus) brachygnathus.[5]

Also in 1929, American paleontologist W. D. Matthews made a review of Siwalik mammals in which he considered Cynailurus pleistoceanicus a junior synonym of Felis brachygnatha, which was also very similar to Felis arvernensis.[6]

Guy Ellcock Pilgrim, in 1932, described a new genus Sivafelis, with the new species Sivafelis potens as the type species and including Felis (?Cynaelurus) brachygnatha (=Sivafelis brachygnathus, and including Sivapanthera lydekkeri as a synonym) and Cynailurus pleistocaenicus (=Sivafelis pleistocaenicus). He admitted that both Abacinonyx and Sivapanthera were older, but stated that the confusion around the type species- Sivapanthera was the senior-most name but its type species was a junior synonym of Abacinonyx' type- compelled him to name a new genus.[7] Colbert Edwin, in his review of Siwalik mammals, followed Pilgrim's assignment of Sivafelis brachygnathus and Sivafelis potens.[8] But Simpson in 1945 noted that Sivapanthera was the senior and thus correct name for the genus, rendering Sivafelis and Abacinonyx junior synonyms.[9]

A fourth species, Sivapanthera linxiaensis from Early Pleistocene deposits in China's Dongxiang Autonomous County, was described in 2004.[2]

References
  1. Kretzoi, M. (1929). "Materialien zur phylogenetischen Klassifikation der Ailuroïden". In Csiki, E. (ed.). Xe Congrès international de zoologie, tenu à Budapest du 4 au 10 septembre 1927. Volume 2. Budapest: Imprimerie Stephaneus. pp. 1293–1355.
  2. Qiu, Z.; Deng, T.; Wang, B. (2004). "Early Pleistocene Mammalian fauna from Longdan, Dongxiang, Gansu, China" (PDF). Palaeontologica Sinica. 191: 1e198.
  3. Lydekker, R. (1884). "Siwalik and Narbada Carnivora". Palaeontologia Indica. 2: 178–351.
  4. Zdansky, O. (1925). "Quartare Carnivoren aus Nord-China". Palæontologia Sinica, ser. C, v. 2, fasc. 2. Geological Survey of China: 23.
  5. Kretzoi, Miklos (1929). "Feliden–studien [Felida-tanulmányok. II. Aeluroidea közlemény]" (PDF). Földtani Intézet Házinyomdája (in Hungarian). 24: 15.
  6. Matthew, W. D. (1929). "Critical Observations upon Siwalik Mammals". Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. LVI: 494–495. hdl:2246/1325.
  7. Pilgrim, G. E. (1932). "The fossil Carnivora of India". Palaeontologia Indica. New Series. 18: 199–203.
  8. Colbert, Edwin H. (1935). "Siwalik Mammals in the American Museum of Natural History". Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. 26: 1123–124. doi:10.2307/1005467. JSTOR 1005467.
  9. Simpson, G. G. (1945). "The principles of classification and classification of mammals". Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. 85: 1–350.
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