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27 Dec 2024, 15:56

Archaeologists discover fossilized remains of palm-sized cat in China

The animal was similar in size to the smallest of its modern relatives, the black-footed cat

BEIJING, December 27. /TASS/. A team from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has discovered in a cave in the Anhui Province, eastern China, the fossilized remains of a miniature cat that lived around human settlements in ancient times, China Daily reported.

Representatives of the Swedish Museum of Natural History and the Northeastern Forestry University of Harbin also participated in studying the findings in the village of Hualongdong. According to Chinese archaeologists, the animal was an extinct species of leopard cat, described as "so tiny that it could easily fit in the palm of your hand."

The animal was similar in size to the smallest of its modern relatives, the black-footed cat. The newly discovered fossil species was named Prionailurus kurteni. Scientists suggest that food remnants left by ancient humans attracted rats, which this small species hunted. However, paleontologists have not yet determined whether the ancestors of modern humans consumed the cat.

The discovered animal fossils are expected to help historians better understand the environment, diet, and threats that existed in this region tens or even hundreds of thousands of years ago. Excavations in Hualongdong have been ongoing since 2013, yielding the fossilized remains of approximately 20 ancient humans, over 400 stone artifacts, and more than 80 fossilized vertebrate animals.