Panthera blytheae

Panthera blytheae is an extinct species of felid which lived during the Early Pliocene of Tibet. It has been initially suggested as the earliest known species of the genus Panthera, though its taxonomic placement has been disputed by other researchers who suggest that it likely belongs to a different genus.

Discovery
Known from a partial skull and isolated teeth, its fossils were first excavated in August 2010 in the Zanda Basin located in the Ngari Prefecture on the Tibetan Plateau, and were subsequently described and named in 2014. The type specimen, IVPP V18788.1, is dated to the Early Pliocene, approximately. While some material from the latest Miocene has been referred to this species, other researchers considered them undiagnostic at genus level and could belong to other felids such as saber-toothed cats.

Description
Although only one skull of Panthera blytheae has been discovered, its describers suggested that the species has a number of features common in other Panthera species, including a "frontoparietal suture located at the postorbital constriction", and an "absence of an anterior bulge overhanging the infraorbital canal". Its size is thought to be on par with that of the clouded leopard. It is about 10% smaller than the snow leopard. However, this is purely based on the relative sizes of the cranium, so this may be slightly inaccurate.

Classification
Some researchers questioned the classification of P. blytheae to the genus Panthera based on a limited comparisons to other species, and as lacking features that comply with Panthera features. One researcher, Hemmer, proposed that P. blytheae and "Miopanthera" pamiri' are distantly related to extant big cats and instead more closely related to Neofelis, and erected Palaeopanthera for both species.

Whether P. blytheae belongs to the genus Panthera or not, this species is not thought to be as closely related to the other extant species of Panthera, and is therefore not believed to be the common ancestor of all pantherines. This implies that the divergence of Panthera from the rest of Felidae was much earlier, with current estimates being approximately 16.4 million years ago. Analysis of the location of P. blytheae in relation to other Panthera species indicates that Panthera arose in Central/Northern Asia or the Holarctic region of Asia, with other pantherines migrating to Europe, Africa and the Americas.