Proailurus

• Europe
• Asia

Proailurus is an extinct predator species from the late Oligocene and early Miocene of Eurasia, which was thought to be the oldest direct ancestor of cats. Recent phylogenetic studies, they organize against it as a basal ancestors of various felines.

Proailurus was slightly larger than a modern domestic cat with a reconstructed shoulder height of about 38 cm. Lemanensis With the kind Proailurus it is first detected in 30 million year old deposits from France.

A probable descendant is Pseudaelurus, which first arose about 20 million years ago.