Small cat species lived alongside early humans in China

A new species of cat, named Prionailurus kurteni, is the smallest known fossil member of the Felidae family to date. Prionailurus kurteni lived in what is now southern China during the Middle Pleistocene, about 300,000 years ago, reported by Sci News.

Fossil species of the smallest cat

However, little is known about the evolutionary history of this cat in Southeast Asia and southern China due to the relatively rare fossil finds in the forest region. These cats are also small, and their bones are often fragile, so they are rarely preserved in fossils, except for a few teeth.

The newly identified cat species belongs to Prionailurus, an extant genus of small spotted wild cats native to Asia. The genus Prionailurus is the most diverse genus of cat in the forests of southern and southeastern Asia, with four known species. Molecular dating supports the Late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene age of the find.

Early humans and cats in China

Fossils of this genus are extremely rare. A tiny fragment of the lower jaw of Prionailurus kurteni was found in Hualongdong I Cave, a cave site of early Homo in the southernmost part of China’s Anhui Province. Uranium-based dating gives a range of 275,000 to 331,000 years for the fossil beds where Homo remains are found. The fossil cat described in the study was also recovered from this layer.

Prionailurus kurteni is the smallest known fossil member of the family Felidae to date. The ancient species is comparable in size to the two smallest modern cats: the rusty-spotted cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus) and the black-footed cat (Felis nigripes).