| Puma pardoides | |
|---|---|
| |
| Scientific classification |
Puma pardoides, also known as Owen's Panther or the Eurasian Puma is an extinct prehistoric cat, long regarded as a primitive species of leopard (genus Panthera). Recent work has shown that Panthera pardoides is actually the same thing as Panthera schaubi, which is probably not a pantherine at all, but more properly classified as Puma pardoides.
Classification[]
Panthera schaubi or Viretailurus schaubi was historically often regarded as a basal member of the genus Panthera. However, recent work has shown that Viretailurus should actually be included in the genus Puma as a junior synonym of Puma pardoides. Fossils of this leopard-sized animal are around 2 million years old and were found in France.
In Popular Culture[]
- A pack of Owen's Panther were featured in the Animal Planet TV series Animal Armaggedon where they were shown as a pack of them hunting some Mammoths and other Ice Age animals.