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Prehistoric lynxes.
Aug. 29th, 2007 07:18 pmPreviously I hadn't heard of the Issoire lynx, and I'm happy to have learned about it. Here are some neat tidbits I uncovered from that search:
(from an awesome site detailing cat prehistory)
"Lynx were known to be present in North America and Eurasia in Pliocene or Pleistocene time. The common ancestor of modern lynx and bobcats was probably a North American lynx of 6.7 million years ago. The extinct Issoire Lynx (Lynx issiodorensis) of 4 million years ago was larger than modern lynx with shorter legs. Modern lynx are smaller, a trend that is true in other species such as cheetah, jaguar, leopard and lion where the prehistoric forms were giants compared to their modern descendents. Their larger size was either an adaptation to colder climes or to cope with larger prey species. Another Pleistocene subspecies was Lynx rufus koakudsi.
( Read more... )
(from an awesome site detailing cat prehistory)
"Lynx were known to be present in North America and Eurasia in Pliocene or Pleistocene time. The common ancestor of modern lynx and bobcats was probably a North American lynx of 6.7 million years ago. The extinct Issoire Lynx (Lynx issiodorensis) of 4 million years ago was larger than modern lynx with shorter legs. Modern lynx are smaller, a trend that is true in other species such as cheetah, jaguar, leopard and lion where the prehistoric forms were giants compared to their modern descendents. Their larger size was either an adaptation to colder climes or to cope with larger prey species. Another Pleistocene subspecies was Lynx rufus koakudsi.
( Read more... )
