Nuevo Gato Viejo
Saturday, 27 January 2024 10:12
Belvedere assures me that this is Spanish for New Old Cat, so I hope it is, and that none of our Spanish speaking subscribers will be insulted.
In 2007 (yes, a long time ago, before even Belvedere was born) the jawbone of a prehistoric feline was found at an archaeological dig, Príncipe Pío-2 near Madrid. It was practically complete with almost all of its teeth, except the incisors, in box fresh condition:a palaeontologist’s dream.
Well. After almost two decades of study, the owner of the jaw has been given an identity, a name, a timeframe and a place in the classification system. Researchers at the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales in Madrid have identified it as a new genus and species of medium-sized feline.
The new species, named Magerifelis peignei, lived some 15.5 million years ago (Middle Miocene epoch). It belonged to Felinae, a subfamily of small cats, to which the ancestor of the domestic cat, Felis sylvestris lybica , belongs. The most striking thing about it was that it had a tiny lower second molar, a tooth absent in all living and fossil felids except Proailurus, the First Cat and great ancestor of all cats. (All Hail Proailurus).
Extrapolating from the excellent evidence of the dentition, palaeontologists have deduced that M. peignei, was a chunky serval- or caracal-sized animal, weighing in at around 7 or 8 kgs, with a ferocious power bite, more like a lynx. The nearest living equivalent in size and heft would be the Iberian lynx , as image. This means it would have been able to bring down larger prey animals than its relatives could. (I caught Belvedere trying to find an extra tooth during our grooming session this morning. He denied it, of course.)
Despite its ferocity, the new old cat was still technically a small cat, because it had a bony hyoid, which means that it could not roar, but only purr: probably in a very menacing manner though.
So! A whole new species, directly linked to the domestic ancestor. Impressive, eh? Just because we purr doesn’t mean we are pussycats.
For more about teeth, purring, bite strength and so forth, why not take a look at upcoming Clowder Press title How Cats Work.