Parailurus Temporal range: early to late Pliocene
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
Synonyms
P. anglicus Ailurus anglicus Parailurus hungaricus

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]

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]

References

Further reading

• Kundrát, Martin (2011). "Phenotypic and Geographic Diversity of the Lesser Panda Parailurus". Red Panda. pp. 61–87. doi:10.1016/B978-1-4377-7813-7.00005-7. ISBN 9781437778137. S2CID 89029827.

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