A new tribe, new genus and two new species of Barbourofelinae (Felidae, Carnivora, Mammalia) from the Early Miocene of East Africa and Spain

Abstract

A new genus and species of felid, Ginsburgsmilus napakensis, is described from Napak, Uganda. Material from Songhor, Kenya, previously identified as Afrosmilus turkanae by Schmidt-Kittler (1987) is assigned to this species. A new species of Afrosmilus, A. hispanicus, is described from Artesilla, Spain. These new felid species combine sabre-tooth canines of maochairodont type with cheek teeth similar to those of Pseudailurus. Phylogenetically they are close to Afrosmilus turkanae which shows a greater specialisation towards markedly machairodont forms. On the basis of dental features, we propose a close relationship between these two genera (which we group into the new tribe Afrosmilini) and the tribe Barbourofelini (Sansanosmilus and Barbourofelis), the transition between the two being represented in the fossil record by Prosansanosmilus peregrinus Heizmann et al. 1980.

Phylogenetic Systematics of North American Pseudaelurus (Carnivora: Felidae)

“…Aeluroids are another frustrating example of a highly derived carnivoran form suddenly appearing in the fossil record of the late Oligocene. Another uncertainty is the referral of the Barbourofelinae to Nimravidae and hypotheses concerning its Miocene ''ghost lineage'' (Neff, 1983, Bryant, 1991, Morales et al, 2001). An equally compelling chapter in this felid narrative is the Pliocene and Pleistocene extinction of the many sabertoothed forms and the collateral survival of modern felids' ancestors.…”

Evolution and systematics of the feliform Carnivora

“…The earliest fossil records of this second sabretoothed group named Barbourofelinae are found from the early Miocene of Africa, e.g., Afrosmilus, Ginsburgsmilus and Syrtosmilus genera (Morlo et al 2004), suggesting Africa to be the probable site of their origin. In Europe, barbourofelines appeared at the end of the early Miocene first with the genus Prosansanosmilus, then with Sansanosmilus, and terminated in the highly specialised Barbourofelis (Geraads and Gulec 1997; Morales et al 2001) which also successfully colonised North America. Their internal relationships are poorly resolved because of the highly convergent characteristics due to their sabretoothed adaptation.…”

El cambio de ideas acerca de la evolución y morfología functional de los félidos Machairodontinos

“…2) such as Megantereon. Barbourofelis, Sansanosmilus and several related genera were also classified as members of the Nimravidae, but their anatomy is rather different from that of typical nimravids leading some specialists to include them within the Felidae (Morales et al, 2001). However, their ear region differs significantly from that of felids, as observed by Bryant (1991) and Hunt (1987), and it may be justified to keep those genera in a new, separate family, the Barbourofelidae, as proposed by Morlo et al (2004) (fig.…”