Pratifelis Explained

Pratifelis is an extinct genus of feline that lived in North America during the middle Miocene period. It contains a single species, Pratifelis martini.

History and naming

In the summer of 1911, the first and only specimen was collected by H. T. Martin in Wallace County, Kansas. It was transported to the University of Kansas Museum of Vertebrate Paleontology, where it was named and described by paleontologist Claude W. Hibbard as a new genus and species of felid in 1934. The generic name Pratifelis comes from the Latin words pratum meaning field or plain, and felis, meaning cat. The specific name martini was given in honor of H. T. Martin.^[1]

In a 1954 paper J. R. Macdonald reassigned the species to the genus Pseudaelurus,^[2] but later papers maintained its status as a distinct and valid genus.^{[3] [4]}

Description

The single specimen upon which both the genus and species were based, UKMNH 3156, is a partial lower left ramus with only the third and fourth premolars and the first molar present. It has been noted for having fairly heavy dentition considering how light its jaw was.^[5]

P. martini was a short-faced cat, likely bigger than the modern cougar.^[5]

Classification

In his description of the genus and species, Hibbard classified Pratifelis as a primitive member of Felidae, the cat family.^[1] L. D. Martin, in 1998, considered it part of the small cat subfamily Felinae.^[6]

A 2003 paper by Tom Rothwell, who had seen casts of the specimen, mentioned in passing that it had some similarity to specimens of Nimravides, and that an examination of the original specimen might result in a reassignment to that genus.^[7] And a 2018 phylogenetic analysis recovered Pratifelis martini within Nimravides:^[8]

Notes and References

1. 10.2307/3625308 . Hibbard . C. W. . Two New Genera of Felidæ from the Middle Pliocene of Kansas . Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science (1903–) . Kansas Academy of Science . 37 . 239–255 . 3625308 . 1934 .
2. Macdonald, J.R.. 1954. A new Pseudaelurus from the lower Snake Creek fauna of Nebraska.. SEPM Society for Sedimentary Geology. Journal of Paleontology. 28. 1. 67–69. 1300209.
3. Bennet, D. K.. 1979. The fossil fauna from Lost and Found Quarries (Hemphillian: latest Miocene), Wallace County, Kansas.. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas. 79. 1–24 .
4. McKenna, M.C.. Bell, S.. 1997. Classification of mammals above the species level.. New York: Columbia University Press.
5. 10.2307/3625600. Lane . H.H.. December 1947. Survey of the Fossil Vertebrates of Kansas: Part V: The Mammals (Continued). Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science (1903–). Kansas Academy of Science. 50. 3/4. 273–314. 3625600. 1947.
6. Book: Martin, L. D. . 1998 . Felidae . C. M. Janis . K. M. Scott . L. L. Jacobs . Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America . 1 . 236–242.
7. Rothwell, T.. Phylogenetic Systematics of North American Pseudaelurus (Carnivora: Felidae) . American Museum Novitates. 3403. 2003. 10. 10.1206/0003-0082(2003)403<0001:PSONAP>2.0.CO;2. 67753626 . 0003-0082.
8. 10.1016/j.palaeo.2018.01.034 . Evolution of the sabertooth mandible: A deadly ecomorphological specialization . 2018 . Piras . Paolo . Silvestro . Daniele . Carotenuto . Francesco . Castiglione . Silvia . Kotsakis . Anastassios . Maiorino . Leonardo . Melchionna . Marina . Mondanaro . Alessandro . Sansalone . Gabriele . Serio . Carmela . Vero . Veronica Anna . Raia . Pasquale . Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology . 496 . 166–174 . 2018PPP...496..166P . 2158/1268434 . free .