Pseudaelurus validus Rothwell, 2001

ROTHWELL, TOM, 2003, Phylogenetic Systematics of North American Pseudaelurus (Carnivora: Felidae), American Museum Novitates 3403, pp. 1-64 : 12-13

Pseudaelurus validus Rothwell, 2001

HOLOTYPE: F:AM 62128, skull with left and right I3, left C, broken right C, singlerooted alveoli for P1 and P2, left and right P3–M1. Articulated lower jaws with left i3, left and right c, left and right single­rooted alveoli for p2, left and right p3–m1. Postcrania: right and left humeri, right and left radii, right and left ulnae, left manus, articulated right manus, distal fragment of left femur with patella, left tibia, right tibial fragment, left and right fibular fragments, right pes, articulated left pes, partially prepared elements in plaster jacket, including exposed scapulae, ribs, vertebrae.

REFERRED SPECIMENS: Sheep Creek Fauna, Sheep Creek Formation (late Hemingfordi­ an), Sioux County, Nebraska: F:AM 61827, right ramus with c, alveolus p2, p3, p4, broken m1, Greenside Quarry; F:AM 61837, left maxillary fragment with I3, C–M1, right tib­ ia and fibula, partial right radius, partial right ulna, astragalus, vertebrae and right fourth metatarsal, Head of Pliohippus Draw.

Lower Snake Creek Fauna, Olcott Formation (early Barstovian), Sioux County, Nebraska: F:AM 61834, complete skull with upper dentition, zygomatic arches, intact basicranium and associated lower jaws (F: AM 61829), Humbug Quarry; F:AM 61803, left maxilla with I3 alveolus, C, alveolus P1 and P2, P3–M1, Humbug Quarry; F:AM 61833, partial skull with upper dentition and partial right zygomatic arch, Quarry 3 (Far Surface Quarry); F:AM 61832, left ramus with i3, c, p2, broken p3, p4 and broken m1, East Wall Quarry; F:AM 61830, partial left ramus with p4, m1, Quarry 3 (Far Surface Quarry); F: AM 61828, left and right rami with left and right c, p2 alveoli, p3–m1, right humerus, left radius, left and right tibiae, Echo Quarry; F: AM 61835, a nearly complete skull with upper dentition and intact basicranium, Echo Quarry; F:AM 61836, skull fragment with left P4, left and right partial rami with partial dentitions, maxillary fragment with canine tooth, left radius, Echo Quarry.

DISTRIBUTION: Late Hemingfordian of New Mexico, late Hemingfordian and early Barstovian of Nebraska.

DIAGNOSIS: Differs from other species of Pseudaelurus by the combination of large size, long distance between c and p3, extremely reduced or absent metaconid on m1, and robust dentary with large and erect rectangular­shaped coronoid process. P. validus overlaps in size with P. intrepidus and P. marshi in North America and P. quadridentatus in Europe but can be differentiated from these species by the longer c–p3 length in P. validus , which exceeds the length of its m1, and by its large, erect, and rectangular coronoid process.

DESCRIPTION AND COMPARISONS: The holotype has been previously described in detail ( Rothwell, 2001). The dentary bone of P. validus is taller and wider than similar­sized specimens of P. marshi or P. intrepidus . The coronoid process is wider and more erect than P. marshi or P. intrepidus and is much taller than in the earlier European taxon Proailurus lemanensis (fig. 10). The size and erectness of the coronoid process of P. vali­ dus resembles more the temporally equiva­