| Proailurus Fossil range: Late Oligocene - Early Miocene |
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Proailurus was a prehistoric feline that lived in Europe approximately 25 million years ago. It is an ancestor of today's felids. Proailurus was a compact and small animal, just a little larger than the domestic cat, weighing about a slender 20 lb (9 kg). It had a long tail, large eyes and sharp claws and teeth, with similar proportions to the modern viverrids. Like the vivverids, it was probably a tree-dweller.[1] One of the next known cats on the feline family tree is Pseudaelurus, which lived 20-10 million years ago.
References
- ^ Turner, Alan (1997). The Big Cats and their fossil relatives. New York: Columbia University Press, 25. ISBN 0-231-10228-3.


