Afrosmilus

Afrosmilus Temporal range: Middle Miocene
Restoration of Hyainailouros sulzeri (far left), Cynelos eurydon, Afrosmilus africanus and Hyainailouros napakensis (far right)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Feliformia
Family:	†Barbourofelidae
Tribe:	†Afrosmilini
Genus:	†Afrosmilus Kretzoi, 1929
Type species
†Afrosmilus africanus (Andrews, 1914)
Species
†Afrosmilus hispanicus Morales et al., 2001 †Afrosmilus turkanae Schmidt-Kittler, 1987

Afrosmilus is a fossil genus of afrosmilin barbourofelid. It lived in Africa during the middle Miocene.

Taxonomy and evolution

The species Pseudaelurus africanus was first described in 1914;[1] in 1929 it was assigned to the new genus Afrosmilus by Miklós Kretzoi.[2]

A second species Afrosmilus turkanae was described in 1987.[3]

In 2001, a third species, Afrosmilus hispanicus, was described along with the closely related genus Ginsburgsmilus; for these earlier African barbourofelines the tribe Afrosmilini was erected.[4]

References

1. Andrews, C.W. (1914). "On the Lower Miocene Vertebrates from British East Africa, collected by Dr. Felix Oswald". Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London. 70: 179.
2. Kretzoi, M. (1929). "Materialen zur phylogenetischen Klassification der Aeluroideen". Comptes Rendus, 10th International Zoological Congress: 1293–1355.
3. Schmidt-Kittler, N. (1987). "The Carnivora (Fissipedia) from the Lower Miocene of East Africa". Palaeontographica A. 197: 85–126.
4. Morales, J.; Salesa, M.J.; et al. (March 2001). "A new tribe, new genus and two new species of Barbourofelinae (Felidae, Carnivora, Mammalia) from the Early Miocene of East Africa and Spain". Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 92 (1): 97–102. doi:10.1017/S0263593300000067. S2CID 85704378.