Puma lacustris
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lake cat | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Holotype at the National Museum of Natural History | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Subfamily: | Felinae |
| Genus: | Puma |
| Species: | †P. lacustris |
| Binomial name | |
| †Puma lacustris (Gazin, 1933) | |
| Synonyms | |
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The lake cat (Puma lacustris) is an extinct species of Puma from the Blancan stage (from the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene). The type specimen is a partial fragment piece of the right side of the mandible retaining canine and cheek-teeth found in the Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument from Idaho. The holotype was described in 1933 by Gazin who considered a smaller relative of the cougar.[1] The taxonomic identity has been uncertain at times, as a relationship (and classification) to lynxes has been purposed.[2] Additional specimens of this species of Puma have been found elsewhere in North America, such as Washington, California, Arizona, Texas, and Baja California.[3]
