| Sivapardus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Subfamily: | Felinae |
| Genus: | †Sivapardus Bakr, 1969 |
| Type species | |
| Sivapardus punjabiensis Bakr, 1969 | |
  Sar-Dhok locality Sar-Dhok locality (Pakistan) Show map of Pakistan | |
Sivapardus is an extinct, little-known genus offeline with only one species assigned to it,Sivapardus punjabiensis. It was described in 1969 by the paleontologist Abu Bakr based on a partialmandible from the UpperSiwaliks in Pakistan; the locality it was found at is estimated to be from the LatePliocene to EarlyPleistocene.S. punjabiensis was a large cat with a short and broad snout that may have lived on open grasslands.
The type and only specimen,U.Z. No. 67/22 (part of the Punjab University Zoology Department Fossil Collection), was collected in 1967 from the Sar Dhok locality in the Pabbi Hills west of Kharain,Gujrat, in westernPakistan. It was described and assigned by Abu Bakr to the new genus and speciesSivapardus punjabiensis in 1969. No etymology was given for either name.[1]
Thetype specimen is a rightmandibular ramus with several teeth: the fourthpremolar and firstmolar are damaged but present, but only the roots of the third premolar and thecanine tooth remain, and the thirdincisor is represented only by itstooth socket. The third incisor was situated a little in front of the canine tooth, which itself seems to have been relatively very large. Thediastema behind the canine tooth was short. The shape of the third premolar, based on the roots, is typical of cats.[1]
The fourth premolar, though damaged, resembles most felines in having three cusps in a row; the main cusp was likely slightly higher than theparaconid of the molar (similar toPanthera, not preserved inSivapanthera), and a prominent posteriorcingulum (a shelf at the base of the tooth) is located behind the posterior (rear) cusp (also similar to bothPanthera andSivapanthera); there is indication of a cingulum-like structure on the left and right of the anterior (front) cusp, but Bakr dismissed this as having any taxonomic value due to its small size. Thefirst molar also retained enough of its structure for description: relative to the premolars, the anterior end is inclined towards the inside (likePanthera and unlikeAcinonyx); theprotoconid was longer and a cusp taller than the paraconid, with a deep valley between the two cusps; there is only faint indication of atalonid and nometaconid at all. The molar overall is longer than the fourth premolar, akin toSivapanthera and unlikePanthera.[1]
Bakr described the species as similar toSivapanthera in general proportions, with the major difference being the massetericfossa (the depression where themasseter muscle attaches to the jaw), which inSivapanthera specimens extended to at least the hind end of the first molar, but inSivapardus punjabiensis ended abruptly well before the first molar, and the end of the fossa was well-defined and deep; this feature also set it apart fromPanthera andAcinonyx. The distinct shape of the masseteric fossa was given as the diagnostic feature of the genus and species.[1]
Based on U.Z. No. 67/22, Bakr describedSivapardus punjabiensis as a cat with a short and broad snout similar to that of thecheetah-likeSivapanthera, larger in size than aleopard but smaller than alion.[1]
Bakr classifiedSivapardus as a feline, a member of the subfamilyFelinae.[1]
The Sar-Dhok locality is estimated to be of LatePliocene to late EarlyPleistocene age, and may have been asavannah-like habitat, an open grasslands in a semi-arid climate, with denser growth along riverbanks. Other fauna known from the three Pabbi Hills localities (Sar-Dhok, Panjan Sher Shahana, and Kurla Sharif) are primarily herbivores and include proboscideans such asElephas hysudricus,Elephas planifrons, and several species ofStegodon; the bovidsBoselaphus namadicus,Proamphibos kashmiricus,Hemibos triquetricornis,Bos acutifrons,Bubalus palaeindicus,Bubalus platyceros,Kobus porrecticornis,Sivacobus patulicornis,Antilope sp.,Sivatragus bohlini,Damalops and an indeterminatecaprine; the cervidsMetacervocerus punjabiensis andRucervus; the giraffidSivatherium giganteum; the hippopotamidHexaprotodon sivalensis; rhinocerotids includingRhinoceros sivalensis,Rhinoceros sondaicus; and the equidEquus sivalensis.[2]
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