Proailurus

The generic name Proailurus comes from the Greek , meaning 'before', and , meaning 'cat'. The specific name of P. bourbonnensis simply means "from the Bourbonnais". ==Description==

Proailurus lemanensis was a compact and small animal, just a little larger than the domestic cat, weighing about 20 lb (9 kg). It had a long tail, large eyes and sharp claws and teeth, with similar proportions to the modern viverrids. Its claws would have been retractable to some extent. Like the viverrids, Proailurus was at least partially arboreal. Proailurus major is estimated to have been significantly larger, about 23 kg. The p4 tooth is stronger and the m1 is less elongated than in P. lemanensis. Proailurus bourbonnensis was a smaller species, estimated to have been 7–10 kg. Of the teeth, the p1 is wholly missing, and the m1 was slightly less elongated and the m2 less reduced than in P. lemanensis. ==Classification==

The genus Proailurus was first described by Henri Filhol in 1879 for fossils found in the Saint-Gerand site in France. He named two species, Proailurus lemanensis, based on a mandible, and Proailurus julieni. However, P. julieni was later placed in the genus Stenogale. In 1882, Filhol described a third species, Proailurus medius. In 1888, Schlosser made "P." medius the type species of the genus Haplogale. Haplogale media's placement was later confirmed by Robert Hunt's 1998 studies of aeluroid skulls. In 1999, Peigné carried out a systematic review of the genus, naming another two species, P. bourbonnensis and P. major, in the process. P. major was based on a single specimen, a left mandible from Quercy and Mainz, while P. bourbonnensis was based on a number of lower mandibles and teeth, as well as a left maxilla. ==Distribution and species==

Fossils of Proailurus lemanensis were first found in Saint-Gerand and later in Quercy. P. major and P. bourbonnensis are both known from a single locality each: P. major from Saint-Gérand-le-Puy and P. bourbonnensis from Saint-Gérand-le-Puy, Weisbaden-Amoneburg, and Budenheim (where it is the only Proailurus species known from the Mainz Basin). and the smaller Sheep Creek material to Pseudaelurus skinneri in 2003. The Ginn Quarry cat was described, but not assigned to any taxa, in 2019; though the authors did state that "it should not be dismissed as a 'proailurine-grade' felid" and suggested placing it in Hyperailurictis (despite being considerably older than any known Hyperailurictis) or a new genus. ==Evolution==

Proailurus is believed to have evolved from earlier ailuroid carnivorans such as Stenogale and Haplogale. Proailurus is largely considered to be the first "true" cat and the ancestor of the entire cat family. Most studies support this, placing Proailurus as the basal member of the Felidae. One 2005 phylogeny placed it as a basal member of the Feliformia, but later studies do not support this. ==References==