Un nuevo género y especie de Felidae (Mammalia) de la isla de Rusinga, Kenia, con notas sobre los primeros Felidae de África

• Autores: L. Werdelin
• Localización: Estudios geológicos, ISSN 0367-0449, Vol. 67, Nº 2, 2011, págs. 217-222
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The lower Miocene (Burdigalian) deposits of the Hiwegi Fm., Rusinga Island, Kenya, have yielded a single specimen of a small felid. This specimen, here identified as the holotype of a new genus and species, is of the size of the smallest living Felidae. It shows some features of primitive, �Pseudaelurusgrade� cats, but also features of both morphology and metrics that are intermediate between this grade and modern Felidae, suggesting a transitional taxon. This is in contrast with Diamantofelis and Namafelis from Namibia, which, though aberrant, are more clearly of �Pseudaelurus-grade�. The Rusinga specimen is the most derived felid specimen of the lower Miocene.