Stenailurus

Stenailurus Temporal range: Late Miocene (Turolian) PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Feliformia
Family:	Felidae
Subfamily:	†Machairodontinae
Tribe:	†Metailurini
Genus:	†Stenailurus Crusafont-Pairo & Aguirre, 1972
Type species
Stenailurus teilhardi Crusafont-Pairo & Aguirre, 1972

Stenailurus is an extinct genus of metailurin machairodontine (saber-toothed) cat from the Late Miocene (the Turolian, specifically) of Spain. It contains a single species, Stenailurus teilhardi . It was described based on a piece of maxilla in 1972.[1]

Discovery and naming

The generic name Stenailurus honors Bl. Niels Steensen, considered the father of paleontology, combined with the Greek αἴλουρος/ailurus meaning "cat". The specific name teilhardi honors paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.[1]

Description

Stenailurus shows basal features of machairodonts such as the presence of a P2 tooth.[1]

In 2014, a study describing the genus Yoshi compares the morphology of teeth from multiple metailurines. Among these, the measurements of the canine teeth of Stenailurus were recorded as having a length of 44.4 mm and a mesiodistal diameter of 17 mm. This is mentioned to be comparable to the genera Fortunictis acerensis and Metailurus major.[2]

Classification

Position of Stenailurus in Metailurini according to a 2018 phylogenetic analysis:[3]

Metailurini	Fortunictis acerensis Adelphailurus kansensis Stenailurus teilhardi Metailurus mongoliensis Metailurus hengduanshanensis Metailurus obscurus Metailurus major Yoshi minor Yoshi garevskii Dinofelis

References

1. Crusafont-Pairo, M.; Aguirre, E. (1972). "Stenailurus, Félidé nouveau du Turolien d'Éspagne" [Stenailurus, A New Felid of the Turolian of Spain]. Annales de Paléontologie (in French). 58 (2): 211–223. OCLC 314072653.
2. Spassov, Nikolai; Geraads, Denis (March 2015). "A New Felid from the Late Miocene of the Balkans and the Contents of the Genus Metailurus Zdansky, 1924 (Carnivora, Felidae)". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 22 (1): 45–56. doi:10.1007/s10914-014-9266-5.
3. 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 (2018). "Evolution of the sabertooth mandible: A deadly ecomorphological specialization". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 496: 166–174. Bibcode:2018PPP...496..166P. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2018.01.034. hdl:2158/1268434.