Lynx issiodorensis
| Issoire lynx Temporal range: Villafranchian
| |
|---|---|
| Fossils | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Feliformia |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Subfamily: | Felinae |
| Genus: | Lynx |
| Species: | †L. issiodorensis
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| Binomial name | |
| †Lynx issiodorensis (Croizet & Jobert, 1828)
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| Synonyms | |
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Lynx issiodorensis, sometimes called the Issoire lynx, is an extinct species of lynx that inhabited Europe during the late Pliocene to Pleistocene epochs, and may have originated in Africa during the late Pliocene. It is named after the town of Issoire where the first remains were found. It probably became extinct during the end of the last glacial period.[1]
It is generally considered as the ancestor of all four species of lynx alive today. Its skeleton resembled that of living lynxes, but it had shorter and more robust limbs, with a larger head and longer neck. As a result, the Issoire lynx more closely resembled a typical member of the cat family than to its extant descendants.
Taxonomy
In 1945, another lynx species, Lynx shansius, was described based on fossils from Asia. However, in 1984 a reexamination of the L. shansius material determined it to be synonymous with L. issiodorensis.[2]
Distribution
L. issiodorensis is known from France,[3] Italy,[4] Russia,[5] and China.[2]
References
- ^ Sunquist, Mel; Sunquist, Fiona (2002). Wild cats of the World. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 153. ISBN 0-226-77999-8.
- ^ a b Kurtén, Björn; Werdelin, Lars (1984). "The relationships of Lynx shansius Teilhard". Annales Zoologici Fennici. 21 (2): 129–133. Retrieved 24 June 2025 – via JSTOR.
- ^ Lacombat, Frédéric; Abbazzi, Laura; Ferretti, Marco P.; Martínez-Navarro, Bienvenido; Moullé, Pierre-Elie; Palombo, Maria-Rita; Rook, Lorenzo; Turner, Alan; Valli, Andrea M.-F. (March 2008). "New data on the Early Villafranchian fauna from Vialette (Haute-Loire, France) based on the collection of the Crozatier Museum (Le Puy-en-Velay, Haute-Loire, France)". Quaternary International. 179 (1): 64–71. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2007.09.005. Retrieved 24 June 2025 – via Elsevier Science Direct.
- ^ Cherin, Marco; Iurino, Dawid A.; Sardella, Raffaele (September 2013). "New well-preserved material of Lynx issiodorensis valdarnensis (Felidae, Mammalia) from the Early Pleistocene of Pantalla (central Italy)". Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana (2): 103–111. doi:10.4435/BSPI.2013.16. ISSN 0375-7633. Retrieved 25 June 2025 – via IrisAir.
- ^ Lyubimov, Nikita A.; Iltsevich, Karina Yu; Sablin, Mikhail V. (7 May 2025). "Early Pleistocene Lynx issiodorensis (Croizet & Jobert, 1828) from the Muhkai 2 (northeastern Caucasus, Russia)". Historical Biology: 1–9. doi:10.1080/08912963.2025.2501324. ISSN 0891-2963. Retrieved 24 June 2025 – via Taylor and Francis Online.