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 Epoch, and its fossils have been found in Europe, North America, and Japan.^[1][2]

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

The fossils of P. baikalicus carry low-crowned lower molars, along with the main cuspids of the cheek teeth being worn horizontally. This suggests P. baikalicus commonly ate leaves.^[3]

A third species, Parailurus tedfordi, was described in 2022.^[4]