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Werdelin, L.
A new genus and species of Felidae from Rusinga island, Kenya, with notes on early Felidae of Africa
2011 Estudios Geol¢gicos (67): 217-222
The lower Miocene (Burdigalian) deposits of the Hiwegi Fm., Rusinga Island, Kenya, have yielded a single specimen of a small felid. This specimen, here identified as the holotype of a new genus and species, is of the size of the smallest living Felidae. It shows some features of primitive, "Pseudaelurus-grade" cats, but also features of both morphology and metrics that are intermediate between this grade and modern Felidae, suggesting a transitional taxon. This is in contrast with Diamantofelis and Namafelis from Namibia, which, though aberrant, are more clearly of "Pseudaelurus-grade". The Rusinga specimen is the most derived felid specimen of the lower Miocene.
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