Pseudaelurus fossil map
Where fossils of Pseudaelurus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 15 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 15 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 23.04–0.129 million years ago (Aquitanian to Chibanian) |
| Periods | Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Felidae |
| Named by | (Leidy 1858) |
| Fossil records | 172 occurrences at 61 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States, France, China, Mexico, Germany, Kenya, Türkiye, Canada, Poland, Slovakia … |
| Rock formations | txn:41045, Olcott, Valentine, Sheep Creek, Temblor, Ash Hollow |
About Pseudaelurus
Pseudaelurus is a prehistoric cat that lived in Europe, Asia and North America in the Miocene between approximately twenty and eight million years ago. It is considered to be a paraphyletic grade ancestral to living felines and pantherines as well as the extinct machairodonts (saber-tooths), and is a successor to Proailurus. It originated from Eurasia and was the first cat to reach North America, when it entered the continent at about 18.5 Ma ending a 'cat-gap' of 7 million years. The slender proportions of the animal, together with its short, viverrid-like legs, suggest that it may have been an agile climber of trees.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Pseudaelurus (revision 1367954067), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q132747.
