Leopardus vorohuensis is an extinct species of feline. Fossils of the species were found in the Vorohué Formation of Argentina and dated to the Uquian age of the early middle Pleistocene.[1][2] It is the earliest known cat of the ocelot lineage of neotropical cats.[3]

Leopardus vorohuensis
Temporal range: Early-Mid Pleistocene (Uquian)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Felinae
Genus: Leopardus
Species:
L. vorohuensis
Binomial name
Leopardus vorohuensis
(Berta, 1983)
Synonyms
  • Felis vorohuensis Berta, 1983

Taxonomy

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Leopardus vorohuensis was originally described in 1983 by paleontologist Annalisa Berta, who placed it as a member of the genus Felis.[1] It was later assigned to the genus Leopardus by the paleontologist John Alroy after a comparative study of various feline fossil species.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b Berta, A. (1983). "A New Species of Small Cat (Felidae) from the Late Pliocene – Early Pleistocene (Uquian) of Argentina". Journal of Mammalogy. 64 (4): 720–725. doi:10.2307/1380541. JSTOR 1380541.
  2. ^ Leopardus vorohuensis in the Paleobiology Database
  3. ^ Prevosti, F. (2006). "New material of Pleistocene cats (Carnivora, Felidae) from Southern South America, with comments on biogeography and the fossil record". Geobios. 39 (5): 679–694. Bibcode:2006Geobi..39..679P. doi:10.1016/j.geobios.2005.01.004.
  4. ^ Alroy, J. (2007). "Synonymies and reidentifications of North American fossil vertebrates and so forth". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)