Panthera blytheae
- Asia, the highlands of Tibet
Panthera blytheae is an extinct species of large cats ( genus Panthera ). The fossils are the oldest known remains of a type that is associated with the big cats. They originate from the highlands of Tibet in the Himalayas and are dated to the transition of late Miocene to early Pliocene million before 5.95 to 4.1 years.
The type corresponded in size as the clouded leopards living today and is closely related to the snow leopard. The oldest known fossil species of big cats authentics based Panthera blytheae the origin of the genus in Asia, from where it spread to Europe, Africa, North and South America.
- 4.1 biogeography and speciation
- 4.2 naming
Features
Fossil material
The description of Panthera blytheae as an independent species was made on the basis of several skull fragments. As this type of material was a skull fragment consisting of a nearly complete skull face ( IVPP V18788.1 ) with an existing left zygomatic arch and several complete teeth ( left first incisor, both canines as well as each of the third and fourth premolar ). The tooth cavities ( alveoli ) have also pointed to the existence of a small, reduced, second premolar and first molar of a very large. The incisors and canines are heavily worn, in contrast to the sharp and slightly worn premolars.
As an additional material of the kind several other skull fragments and individual teeth of the same and nearby sites were assigned, including a partially delivered right mandible with a third and fourth premolars and first molars. More bones of the skeleton are not present.
Feature reconstruction and comparison with other species
Based on the existing, partially dorsoventrally depressed, skull material was determined using an X-ray computed tomography, a reconstruction of the skull developed which can be used for comparison with other species of the genus Panthera. The skull of Panthera therefore blytheae is about as large as that of the clouded leopard ( Neofelis nebulosa ) and about 10% smaller than that of the snow leopard ( P. uncia ). The Snout width in proportion to the rest of the skull is between that of the clouded leopard and the living today Panthera species.
The reconstruction of the skull also shows a well-trained sinus in the anterior postorbital area, which coincides with today's living big cats. The frontal sinus as well as some other features such as the mandibular size correspond in their relationship but more like those of larger living today big cats as the snow leopard. The ratio of the tooth sizes to each other in turn is more like that of a clouded leopard as a Panthera species. The size of the premolars in the lower jaw is similar to the various small cats such as the ocelot ( Leopardus pardalis), the first molar is enlarged with respect to clear.
Numerous specific skull characteristics divides Panthera blytheae with the snow leopard, including the nearly circular cross-section of the canines and a depression around the front area of the nasal bones. Stand-alone features are found mainly on the teeth such as a small additional tooth tip at the upper third and a grooving at the upper fourth premolar.
Locality and temporal classification
The first description of fossils date from the highlands of Tibet in the Himalayas. The site is located in the Zanda county in the eastern part of the district and therefore Ngari in the far west of Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China. The site (31 ° 39'58 "N, 79 ° 44'57" E) is located at an altitude of 4114 meters and is referred to as IVPP ZD1001, the formation as Zanda lineup. The fossils IVPP V18788.1 -3 originate from a small bone deposit in the center of the formation and were found in greenish, coarse sandstone.
The fossil material of the type material is estimated to be 4.42 million years ago, with the estimate of the assumed age of the reference results, which is stratigraphically correlated with the layer C3n.1r. All the material available falls within a period that is prior to 5.95 to 4.1 million years ago. Thus, the age of the fossils fall on the transition from the late Miocene to early Pliocene and the period during which the highlands of Tibet was raised to as the northernmost part of the Himalayas in its formation.
Lifestyle and paleoecology
Like all other fossil and living today, recent, species of big cats was also Panthera blytheae a carnivore that probably fed on small mammals.
Taxonomy
The first scientific description of the fossils of Panthera blytheae as a separate species within the authentics big cats ( genus Panthera ) was carried out in 2013 by a working group led by paleontologist Jack Z. Tseng from the American Museum of Natural History.
Neofelis
Snow leopard ( P. uncia )
Panthera blytheae †
Tiger ( P. tigris )
American lion ( P. atrox ) †
Cave lion ( P. spelaea ) †
Lion ( P. leo)
Leopard ( P. pardus )
Jaguar ( P. onca )
P. palaeosinensis †
Panthera blytheae making it the oldest known species of the genus Panthera, the previously oldest fossils have been found in Africa and to a contradiction between the fossil history of the genus and the building on molecular biological methods phylogenetic tree, which suggests an origin of the genus in Asia. Through the discovery and description of Panthera blytheae this contradiction could be resolved, as the closest relative to the type of living today in the Himalayan snow leopard ( P. uncia ) is assumed.
Phylogenetic analysis revealed a close relationship between the first description of the snow leopard and the tiger ( P. tigris ) for Panthera blytheae. The close relationship between Tiger and Snow Leopard is, however, not confirmed by other studies, among others, as part of the first description of fossil Panthera zdanskyi in 2011. There, the Snow Leopard takes the position as a sister species of all known fossil and recent Panthera species. Tseng and colleagues represent also that most relationships are based only weakly in the cladogram, an exception is the sister species relationship of the snow leopard Panthera and blytheae dar.
Biogeography and speciation
From the pedigree and the age of the fossils is a historical biogeography of the genus Panthera can be derived, ie a history of global colonization by different species of the genus. This speaks for an origin of the genus in Central Asia and spread to South Asia, Europe, Africa and North America. The oldest of the big cats Artbildungen branch lie in the late Miocene, where from a common ancestor nearly all fossil and living species today have trained. An exception is the Evolutionsast from which the now living lion and the fossil American lions and cave lions have emerged.
As an explanation for the high Speziationsrate in the Miocene in particular in the region of present-day Tibetan highlands, the strong tectonic activity is indicated by the rise of the northern Himalayas. They also had an impact on other animal groups such as pikas, foxes, and antelopes, and is regarded as the starting point for the still existing ecological networks of the Tibetan highlands.
Naming
Panthera blytheae was named after the daughter of Blythe Paul and Heather Haaga, who have rendered outstanding services to the protection of birds at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.