Editing Pseudaelurus (section)

===Taxonomic history===
In 1843, the paleontologist [[Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville|H.M. de Blainville]] published a description of a felid cranium and lower jaw fragment from Sansan, France. He assigned these fossils to a new species, ''Felis quadridentata''. The cranium was later reassigned to another species, but in 1850 the lower jaw fragment was assigned to a new genus by Paul Gervais as ''Pseudaelurus quadridentatus'', due to having certain primitive features.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Gervais, Paul |author-link=Paul Gervais |title=Zoologie et paléontologie françaises. Nouvelles recherches sur les animaux vertébrés dont on trouve les ossements enfouis dans les sol de le France et sur leur comparaison avec les espèces propres aux autres regions du globe |journal=Zoologie et Paléontologie Françaises |volume=8 |pages=1–271 |year=1850}}</ref>

In 1858, Joseph Leidy described the species ''Felis intrepidus'', from North America, and reassigned the species as ''Pseudaelurus intrepidus'' in 1869. After that discovery, another eight species of ''Pseudaelurus'' would be described in North America, but only five are still considered valid.<ref name=Rothwell2003/>

In 1872, Henri Filhol described the species ''Pseudaelurus edwardsi'' from France, but the species was reassigned to the nimravid genus ''Eofelis'' in 2000.<ref name=Peigne>{{cite journal |author1=Peigné, Stéphane |year=2000 |title=A new species of Eofelis (Carnivora: Nimravidae) from the Phosphorites of Quercy, France |journal=Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences, Série IIA |volume=330 |issue=9 |pages=653–658 |doi=10.1016/s1251-8050(00)00199-3|bibcode=2000CRASE.330..653P }}</ref>

In 1882, a second species from Europe was described as ''Pseudaelurus turauensis'', and a third species, ''Pseudaelurus lorteti'', in 1899. The fourth European species, ''Pseudaelurus romieviensis'', was described in 1934. In addition, the species ''Pseudaelurus transitorius'' was described in 1892, but most later authors considered it a synonym of ''P. turnaeunsis''.<ref name=Rothwell2003/>

In 1914, fossils from Africa were described and assigned to the species ''Pseudaelurus africanus''. However, the species was later reassigned, first to the genus ''Metailurus'', and then finally to ''[[Afrosmilus]]''.<ref name=Morales2008>{{cite journal |author1=Morales, Jorge |author2=Pickford, M. |author3=Salesa, Manuel J. |title=Creodonta and Carnivora from the Early Miocene of the Northern Sperrgebiet, Namibia |journal=Memoir of the Geological Survey of Namibia |volume=20 |pages=291–310 |year=2008}}</ref>

In Asia, the first description of ''Pseudaelurus'' was in 1910, when a fragmentary fossil was assigned to ''Pseudaelurus chinjiensis''; however, it was reassigned in 1915 to the new genus ''[[Sivaelurus]]''.<ref name=Rothwell2004/> The next appearance of ''Pseudaelurus''-grade felids in Asia wasn't until 1986, when a lower jaw fragment and some dental fragments were assigned to the species ''Pseudaelurus lorteti''. In 1990, the species ''Pseudaelurus guangheensis'' was described.<ref name=Cao1990>{{cite journal |author1=Cao, Z. |author2=Du, H |author3=Zhao, Q. |author4=Cheng, J |title=Discovery of the middle Miocene fossil mammals in Guanghe District, Gansu and their stratigraphic significance |journal=Geoscience |volume=4 |pages=16–32 |year=1990}}</ref> In 1998, a second Asian species, ''Pseudaelurus cuspidatus'', was also described.<ref name=Wang1998>{{cite journal |author1=Wang, X. |author2=Ye, J. |author3=Meng, J. |author4=Wu, W |author5=Liu, L. |author6=Bi, S. |title=Carnivora from middle Miocene of northern Junggar Basin, Xinjiang Autonomous Region, China |journal=Vertebrata PalAsiatica |volume=36 |pages=218–243 |year=1998}}</ref> Both of the Asian species are known only from fragmentary fossils.<ref name=Rothwell2003/>

In 1998, while measuring fragmentary fossils from the Hsanda-Gol locality in Mongolia, Robert Hunt referred a lower jaw fragment to ''Proailurus'' sp.; while this was reassigned to the nimravid genus ''Eofelis'' in 1999 instead, a 2004 review of felid material from other localities in Mongolia suggested that it could belong to ''Pseudaelurus cuspidatus'' instead, on basis of having similar features. However, the Hsanda-Gol specimen is dated back to the Oligocene, while ''Pseudaelurus cuspidatus'' is found solely in Miocene-aged localities. The same paper also described a pair of fragments (a lower jaw fragment and a metapodial) and attributed them to ''Pseudaelurus'' sp.<ref name=Rothwell2004>{{cite journal |author1=Rothwell, Tom |title= Chapter 12: New Felid Material from the Ulaan Tologoi Locality, Loh Formation (Early Miocene) of Mongolia|journal= Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History|volume=285 |pages=157–165 |year=2004 |doi=10.1206/0003-0090(2004)285<0157:c>2.0.co;2|citeseerx=10.1.1.616.5669 |s2cid= 85951519}}</ref>

In 2010, a review of the Felidae as a whole suggested that ''Pseudaelurus'' be split into three genera: ''Hyperailurictis'' for the five North American species, ''Styriofelis'' for two of the European species (''P. lorteti'' and ''P. turnaunensis''), and ''Pseudaelurus'' ''sensu stricto'' for ''P. quadridentatus''. The status of ''P. romieviensis'', ''P. guangheensis'', and ''P. cuspidatus'' was given as uncertain. In addition, ''Miopanthera'' and ''Schizailurus'' were recognized as junior synonyms of ''Styriofelis''.<ref name=Werdelin2010>{{cite book |title=Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids |year=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |author=Werdelin, Lars |author2=O'Brien, Stephen J. |author3=Johnson, Warren E. |author4=Yamaguchi, Nobuyuki |editor=Macdonald, D.W. |editor2=Loveridge, A.J. |chapter=Phylogeny and evolution of cats (Felidae) |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266755142}}</ref>

In 2012, a new species ''Styriofelis vallesiensis'' was described based on a specimen found in Spain.<ref name="Salesa2012">{{cite journal |author1=Salesa, Manuel J. |author2=Antón, Mauricio |author3=Morales, Jorge |author4=Peigné, Stéphane |title=Systematics and phylogeny of the small felines (Carnivora, Felidae) from the Late Miocene of Europe: a new species of Felinae from the Vallesian of Batallones (MN 10, Madrid, Spain) |journal=Journal of Systematic Palaeontology |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=87–102 |year=2012 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254249560 |issn=1477-2019 |doi=10.1080/14772019.2011.566584|s2cid=84912711 }}</ref> However, a review of the species in 2017 concluded that it was sufficiently different from other ''Styriofelis'' species as to require a separate genus. It was thus reassigned to the new genus ''[[Leptofelis]]'' as ''Leptofelis vallesiensis''.<ref name=Salesa2017>{{cite journal |author1=Salesa, Manuel J. |author2=Siliceo, Gema |author3=Antón, Mauricio |author4=Peigné, Stéphane |author5=Morales, Jorge |title=Functional and Systematic Implications of the Postcranial Anatomy of a Late Miocene Feline (Carnivora, Felidae) from Batallones-1 (Madrid, Spain) |journal=Journal of Mammalian Evolution |volume=26 |pages=1–31 |year=2017 |doi=10.1007/s10914-017-9414-9|hdl=10261/225344 |s2cid=19719645 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

In 2017, a review of the species ''Felis pamiri'', which was named based on a snout fragment from Turkey and dated to the late Miocene, concluded that ''Felis pamiri'' and ''Pseudaelurus lorteti'' were likely closely related to each other, and ancestral to the ''Panthera'' lineage. Both species were reassigned to the genus ''[[Miopanthera]]'' as ''Miopanthera lorteti'' and ''Miopanthera pamiri''.<ref name=Peigne2017>{{cite journal |author1=Geraads, Denis |author2=Peigné, Stéphane |title=Re-appraisal of 'Felis' pamiri Ozansoy 1959 (Carnivora, Felidae) from the upper Miocene of Turkey: the earliest pantherin cat? |journal=Journal of Mammalian Evolution |volume=24 |issue=4 |pages=415–425 |year=2017 |url=https://hal.sorbonne-universite.fr/hal-01675275/document |doi=10.1007/s10914-016-9349-6|s2cid=207195894 }}</ref>