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Description d’un squelette complet de Metailurus (Felidae, Carnivora, Mammalia) du Miocène supérieur de Bulgarie

2001; Volume: 31; Issue: 3-4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.52321/geolbalc.31.3-4.71

2535-1060

Dimitar Kovachev,

Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies

A new species of Felidae, Metailurus anceps, has been found in the Upper Miocene outcrops at Hadjidimovo, SW Bulgaria. The material consists of an almost complete skeleton (133 parts) that is unique in preservation and belongs to a young-adult specimen. The morphological features of the taxon point at intermediate positions between Felinae and Machairodontinae. The most similar species is Metailurus major Zdansky, 1924. However, the specimen from Hadjidimovo differs from the latter by a more pronounced simplitication of the premolars, the zygomatic processus is strongly shortened, the mastoid processus is better developed, and the processes jugalis and frontalis are shorter and pointed. There is a clear angle between the anterior part of the symphysis and the horizontal branch of the mandible, too.