| Vishnufelis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Subfamily: | Felinae |
| Genus: | †Vishnufelis Pilgrim, 1932 |
| Type species | |
| Vishnufelis laticeps Pilgrim, 1932 | |
Vishnufelis is a fossil genus offeline (cat) containing only a single species,Vishnufelis laticeps. It was described byGuy Ellcock Pilgrim in 1932, based on the first cranial material of a cat found in Asia: a fragmented skull found in theChinji Formation, which dates back to the middleMiocene.[1][2]
Theholotype and only specimen, a fragmentary skull, was collected by K. Aiyengar from theChinji Formation, some 2.75 miles (4.43 km) east of Paridarwaza inJhelum, India. The fossils were placed in the collection in Calcutta of the Geological Survey of India, listed asGSI-D 266. In 1932, paleontologistGuy Ellcock Pilgrim described the fossils as the new genus and speciesVishnufelis laticeps.[1]
No etymology for the generic or specific names was given by Pilgrim,[1] but the specific namelaticeps, meaning "wide-headed" in Latin, is a common taxonomic epithet.[3]
In 1978, additional fossils ofVishnufelis sp. were reported, though not described, from the upper LowerSiwaliks in the Ramnagar basin.[4]
Pilgrim described it as a primitive feline of medium size with a low, elongated skull. The nasals are short and narrow, while thezygomatic arches are broad. The secondpremolar was very small and situated halfway between the canine and third premolar. The third premolar was likewise reduced. At least threeincisors and the fourth premolar are preserved in the fossil. He considered it most similar to theclouded leopard among extant cats.[1] Colbert, in his 1935 summary of Siwalik fossils, described it as small.[5]
Pilgrim in his original description consideredVishnufelis laticeps a very primitive member of the subfamilyFelinae.[1]
Vishnufelis had sharp teeth and probably preyed on smaller animals.[6]
The Lower Siwaliks of Ramnagar were likely a half-closed, half-open woodlands ecosystem with grassy areas, riddled with waterways and floodplain channels and ponds.[7]
A 2020 analysis of carnivoran species considered it part of a Middle Miocene paleobiogeographic province in southern Asia.[8]