When named the genus
Palaeogale and two species (
P. pulchella and
P. fecunda), he only gave a very vague description of these taxa. described a related species,
Mustela minuta, which thought identical and named
Palaeogale minuta, a name that has remained accepted for the type species. wrote that when described the North American species
Bunaelurus lagophagus, he distinguished the genus from the European
Plesiogale (=
Palaeogale in part) based on differences in M2. Simpson, however, thought this molar was "very closely similar" in both genera and synonymized Cope's genus with
Palaeogale. described a skull which he referred to Cope's genus "
Bunaelurus". The skull was found without lower jaws (on which all
Bunaelurus specimens were based), but Matthew argued that the correspondence in horizon and size made the "identification reasonably safe." He nevertheless described it as a "
Palaeogale with a minute second molar still retained." synonymized the then described
Palaeogale species from Europe and North America into four taxa based on age occurrence, size difference, presence of M2, and loss of p1. Two species from Mongolia (
P. ulysses and
P. parvula) described by were synonymized by who argued that the smaller individuals most likely were female and the larger male members of the same species, like in modern mustelids. Flynn & Galiano, however, placed
Ictidopappus as
incertae sedis within this infraorder, and pointed out that the grouping of
Palaeogale and the
Viverravidae in the superfamily
Viverravoidea was a hypothetical arrangement. accepted
Palaeogale as closely related to the family Viverravidae but, because it does not share any "unambiguous synapomorphies with either Feliformia or Caniformia", should be considered
incertae sedis within Carnivora (together with
Stenogale, another very small carnivoran.) ==References==