Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-hgkh8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-27T09:53:24.549Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

A new tribe, new genus and two new species of Barbourofelinae (Felidae, Carnivora, Mammalia) from the Early Miocene of East Africa and Spain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 July 2007

J. Morales
Affiliation:
Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC José Gutierrez Abascal 2, E-28006, Spain e-mail: mcnm166@mncn.csic.es
M. J. Salesa
Affiliation:
Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC José Gutierrez Abascal 2, E-28006, Spain e-mail: mcnm166@mncn.csic.es
M. Pickford
Affiliation:
Collège de France and Laboratoire de Paléontologie, UMR 8569 du CNRS, 8 rue Buffon, F-75005, France e-mail: pickford@mnhn.fr
D. Soria
Affiliation:
Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC José Gutierrez Abascal 2, E-28006, Spain e-mail: mcnm166@mncn.csic.es

Abstract

A new genus and species of felid, Ginsburgsmilus napakensis, is described from Napak, Uganda. Material from Songhor, Kenya, previously identified as Afrosmilus turkanae by Schmidt-Kittler (1987) is assigned to this species. A new species of Afrosmilus, A. hispanicus, is described from Artesilla, Spain. These new felid species combine sabre-tooth canines of maochairodont type with cheek teeth similar to those of Pseudailurus. Phylogenetically they are close to Afrosmilus turkanae which shows a greater specialisation towards markedly machairodont forms. On the basis of dental features, we propose a close relationship between these two genera (which we group into the new tribe Afrosmilini) and the tribe Barbourofelini (Sansanosmilus and Barbourofelis), the transition between the two being represented in the fossil record by Prosansanosmilus peregrinus Heizmann et al. 1980.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Royal Society of Edinburgh 2001

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)