Phylum Chordata Rank Species | ||
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Similar Felidae, Mammal, Carnivores, European jaguar, Pantherinae | ||
Puma pardoides or Owen's panther is an extinct prehistoric cat. It was long regarded as a primitive species of leopard (genus Panthera). Recent work however has shown that Panthera pardoides and Panthera schaubi are actually the same species, and are probably not pantherine at all, but a member of Felinae related to the cougar, making them more properly classified as Puma pardoides.
Classification
Panthera schaubi or Viretailurus schaubi was historically often regarded as a basal member of the genus Panthera. However, recent work has shown that Viretailurus should actually be included in the genus Puma as a junior synonym of Puma pardoides. Fossils of this leopard-sized animal are around 2 million years old and were found in France.
References
Puma pardoides Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA