Parailurus

Parailurus is a genus of extinct carnivoran mammal in the family Ailuridae. It was about 50% larger than Ailurus (red panda) and lived in the Early to Late Pliocene, and its fossils have been found in Europe,^[1][2] North America,^[3] and Japan.^[4]

Parailurus Temporal range: Early Pliocene–Late Pliocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Caniformia
Family:	Ailuridae
Tribe:	†Pristinailurini
Genus:	†Parailurus Schlosser, 1899
Type species
†P. anglicus (Dawkins, 1888)
Species
†P. baikalicus Sotnikova, 2008 †P. tedfordi Wallace & Lyon, 2022 †P. hungaricus Kormos, 1934 †P. anglicus Dawkins, 1888

The fossils of P. baikalicus, known from the Transbaikal region of Russia,^[5] carry low-crowned lower molars, along with the main cuspids of the cheek teeth being worn horizontally. This suggests P. baikalicus was folivorous, commonly consuming leaves.^[6]

The species P. hungaricus is known from the site of Hajnáčka in Slovakia, dating back to the early MN 16 stage.^[1]

A fourth species, Parailurus tedfordi, was described in 2022.^[3]