New Cat Species That Existed 15 Million Years Ago Discovered In Spain

The new cat species identified as Magerifelis peignei, lived in what is currently Spain approximately 15.5 million years ago during the Middle Miocene epoch. Belonging to the Felinae subfamily, these small cats possess a bony hyoid, allowing them to purr but not roar, BBC reported.

"Magerifelis peignei is the sister group of a clade composed of Pristifelis attica, living species of the genus Felis (such as Felis margarita, Felis silvestris, and Felis lybica), Profelis aurata, and Lynx pardinus," said lead author Dr. Manuel Salesa and his colleagues from the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC.

In 2007, the fossilized remains of Magerifelis peignei were discovered at Principe Pio-2, a newly identified fossil site located within the urban confines of Madrid City, Spain.

The specimen is exceptionally well-preserved, displaying the entire hemimandible along with all teeth except the incisors. Its completeness and excellent state of preservation make it a valuable source of information, particularly for conducting paleoecological analyses related to this newly discovered feline.

"We recovered a practically complete jaw that preserved almost all of its teeth in exceptional condition," Dr. Siliceo said.

"The most surprising thing was that it had a tiny lower second molar, a tooth absent in all living and fossil felids except Proailurus."

Magerifelis peignei is estimated to have a body mass of 7.61 kg, a range that aligns with that of female individuals of Lynx rufus, Leptailurus serval, and Caracal caracal.

"When compared with living felines, the hemimandible of Magerifelis peignei from Principe Pio-2 is larger than that of Felis silvestris, showing a similar size to those of Caracal caracal, Leptailurus serval, and Lynx pardinus," the palaeontologists said.

"Nevertheless, if the mandibles of these species are shown at the same mandibular length for better comparison, the dentition of the new species is smaller than those of these latter species, and thus, the specimen has a more robust appearance, with a relatively higher mandibular corpus, very similar to that of the much larger Lynx lynx."

As per the researchers, Magerifelis peignei possessed the ability to exert a powerful bite force during hunting, enabling it to potentially capture relatively large prey.