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Panthera shawi is an extinct prehistoric cat, of which a single canine tooth was excavated in Sterkfontein cave in South Africa by Robert Broom in the 1940s. It is thought to be one of the oldest known Panthera species in Africa.[1][2]
| Panthera shawi Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Feliformia |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Subfamily: | Pantherinae |
| Genus: | Panthera |
| Species: | †P. shawi |
| Binomial name | |
| †Panthera shawi (Broom, 1948) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The original and holotype specimen, a single upper canine tooth from the Bolt's Farm locality, was described by Broom in 1948 as a new species named Felis shawi in honour of Professor Shaw.[3] Further material assigned to the species was recovered from the Kromdraai A and Swartkraans Member 2 localities.[4][5]
It was later considered a subspecies Panthera leo as Panthera leo shawi by some authors.[6][7][8] As of 2022, it was once more elevated to species rank as Panthera shawi.[2]
The canine tooth is about 12 mm (0.47 in) long and considerably larger and thicker at the base than of a modern lion. The tooth crown measures 31 mm × 24 mm (1.22 in × 0.94 in) at the base and is 67.5 mm (2.66 in) long.[3]
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