Lynx issiodorensis
| Issoire lynx Temporal range: Villafranchian | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Fossils | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Placentalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Genus: | Lynx |
| Species: | †L. issiodorensis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Lynx issiodorensis (Croizet & Jobert, 1828) | |
| Synonyms | |
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Lynx issiodorensis, sometimes called the Issoire lynx, is an extinct species of lynx that inhabited Europe during the Pliocene to Pleistocene epochs, and may have originated in Africa during the Late Pliocene. It is named after the town of Issoire where the first fossilised remains were found. It probably became extinct during the end of the last glacial period.[1]
It is generally considered as the ancestor of all four species of lynx alive today. Its skeleton resembled that of living lynxes, but it had shorter and more robust limbs, with a larger head and longer neck. As a result, the Issoire lynx was closer in appearance to a typical member of the cat family than to its extant descendants.
Taxonomy
[edit]In 1945, another lynx species, Lynx shansius, was described based on fossils from Asia. However, in 1984 a reexamination of the L. shansius material determined it to be synonymous with L. issiodorensis.[2]
Distribution
[edit]L. issiodorensis is known from France,[3] Czechia,[4] Romania,[5] Italy,[6] Bulgaria,[7] Greece,[8] Georgia,[9] Russia,[10] and China.[2]
Palaeobiology
[edit]Diet
[edit]The mandibular geometry of L. issiodorensis suggests that it was specialised to predate on medium-sized prey.[11]
References
[edit]- ↑ Sunquist, Mel; Sunquist, Fiona (2002). Wild cats of the World. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 153. ISBN 0-226-77999-8.
- 1 2 Kurtén, Björn; Werdelin, Lars (1984). "The relationships of Lynx shansius Teilhard". Annales Zoologici Fennici. 21 (2): 129–133. Retrieved 24 June 2025 – via JSTOR.
- ↑ Lacombat, Frédéric; Abbazzi, Laura; Ferretti, Marco P.; Martínez-Navarro, Bienvenido; Moullé, Pierre-Elie; Palombo, Maria-Rita; Rook, Lorenzo; Turner, Alan; Valli, Andrea M.-F. (March 2008). "New data on the Early Villafranchian fauna from Vialette (Haute-Loire, France) based on the collection of the Crozatier Museum (Le Puy-en-Velay, Haute-Loire, France)". Quaternary International. 179 (1): 64–71. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2007.09.005. Retrieved 24 June 2025 – via Elsevier Science Direct.
- ↑ Marciszak, Adrian; Wagner, Jan (30 April 2025). "Carnivores from Chlum 4S (Czech Republic): new insight for the latest early Pleistocene carnivore faunas in Central Europe". Historical Biology: 1–34. doi:10.1080/08912963.2025.2481528. ISSN 0891-2963. Retrieved 6 September 2025 – via Taylor and Francis Online.
- ↑ Werdelin, Lars; DrăGuşIn, Virgil; Robu, Marius; Petculescu, Alexandru; Popescu, Aurelian; Curran, Sabrina; Terhune, Claire E. (6 September 2023). "Carnivora From the Early Pleistocene of Grăunceanu (Olteț River Valley, Dacian Basin, Romania)" (PDF). Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia. 129 (3). doi:10.54103/2039-4942/20015. ISSN 2039-4942. Retrieved 10 October 2025 – via Diva Portal.
- ↑ Cherin, Marco; Iurino, Dawid A.; Sardella, Raffaele (September 2013). "New well-preserved material of Lynx issiodorensis valdarnensis (Felidae, Mammalia) from the Early Pleistocene of Pantalla (central Italy)". Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana (2): 103–111. doi:10.4435/BSPI.2013.16. ISSN 0375-7633. Retrieved 25 June 2025 – via IrisAir.
- ↑ Spassov, Nikolai (30 August 1997). "Varshets and Slivnitsa – new localities of Villafranchian vertebrate fauna from Bulgaria (taxonomic composition, biostratigraphy and climatochronology)". Geologica Balcanica. 27 (1–2): 83–90. doi:10.52321/GeolBalc.27.1-2.83. Retrieved 7 September 2025 – via Geologica Balcanica.
- ↑ Koufos, George D.; Grohé, Camille; de Bonis, Louis; Moutrille, Léa; Costeur, Loic; Surault, Jérôme; Kostopoulos, Dimitris S.; Merceron, Gildas (1 July 2025). "Felines from the middle Villafranchian (Early Pleistocene) mammal fauna of Dafnero 3, Greece". Historical Biology: 1–20. doi:10.1080/08912963.2025.2524712. ISSN 0891-2963. Retrieved 24 July 2025 – via Taylor and Francis Online.
- ↑ Bukhsianidze, Maia; Koiava, Kakhaber (22 August 2018). "Synopsis of the terrestrial vertebrate faunas from the Middle Kura Basin (Eastern Georgia and Western Azerbaijan, South Caucasus)". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 63 (3). doi:10.4202/app.00499.201. ISSN 0567-7920. Retrieved 13 September 2025 – via Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.
- ↑ Lyubimov, Nikita A.; Iltsevich, Karina Yu; Sablin, Mikhail V. (7 May 2025). "Early Pleistocene Lynx issiodorensis (Croizet & Jobert, 1828) from the Muhkai 2 (northeastern Caucasus, Russia)". Historical Biology: 1–9. doi:10.1080/08912963.2025.2501324. ISSN 0891-2963. Retrieved 24 June 2025 – via Taylor and Francis Online.
- ↑ Meloro, Carlo (17 March 2011). "Feeding habits of Plio-Pleistocene large carnivores as revealed by the mandibular geometry". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 31 (2): 428–446. doi:10.1080/02724634.2011.550357. ISSN 0272-4634. Retrieved 17 January 2026 – via Taylor and Francis Online.