International Cat Day: Paleontology facts about our favorite felids
On August 8, researchers from ULiège share key insights on how our feline friends evolved before becoming the domestic cats we know today.
The oldest known feline was discovered... in France!
This felid, known as Proailurus lemanensis, weighed around ten kilograms and lived in our region nearly 30 million years ago, just after a sudden global cooling. It already looked like a felid but had a more elongated skull, probably halfway between a cat and a genet, looking something like this:
Today's cats belong to the genus Felis, which diverged from other felines 6.7 million years ago. But there's more than just our domestic cat! Six other species of wild cats have been identified in today's ecosystems.
The illustration shows that cats have a body shape very similar to that of their wild cousins and have retained a shape almost identical to that of their ancestors. There are also fewer breeds of domestic cats than dogs.
A bone that prevents roaring
Did you know that purring isn't necessarily a choice for cats? Our little felines are physically unable to roar because of the structure of one of their bones in the throat called the ‘hyoid bone’. This bone is completely ossified and only allows purring. However, for the panther group (lions, tigers, jaguars, etc.), this bone is not completely ossified, which allows them to roar. Fun fact: sabre-toothed felids (yes, like Diego in Ice Age) such as the species Smilodon fatalis are thought to have a hyoid bone more similar to that of a domestic cat than to that of a tiger, while remaining quite special. This species, which at first glance appears frightening, became much less so when it emitted a sound more like a purr than a roar.
Furthermore, researcher Dr. Narimane Chatar dedicated her thesis to sabre-toothed felids and more specifically to how these species with impressive teeth managed to hunt, but also how they appeared and became extinct, using 3D models of skulls and biomechanical simulations. Her research revealed that not all sabre-toothed felids species hunted in the same way and highlighted certain evolutionary factors that allowed such extreme morphologies to emerge.
A red-and-green life
The common belief is that our feline friends have vision worthy of 1940s movies, but recent studies have shown that cats can perceive certain colours. However, their vision is more similar to that of a human with red-green colour blindness. So don't expect Moustache to appreciate your living room decorations at Christmas!
A very specific diet
Did you know that cats only have 30 teeth, compared to 42 for dogs? This is linked to their strictly carnivorous diet. Over the course of evolution, felines have developed simpler and more specialized teeth that cut meat more effectively. Canines have retained a more complex and varied set of teeth, allowing them to have a more diverse diet.
Adapting to a carnivorous diet also explains the formation of hairballs, which are sometimes regurgitated: Felix's digestive system does not contain enzymes to break down the keratin found in hair, nails, and fur.
Still on the subject of their diet: our domestic hunters only bring back 20 to 30% of the prey they kill. Their impact on biodiversity is therefore greatly underestimated, and even if they are well fed, they continue to hunt!
Panthers in Belgium?
Yes, you read that right! During the last ice ages, several large felids are believed to have made their home in our territory, such as the cave lion and the Gombaszög panther. In fact, a magnificent Gombaszög panther skull from La Belle Roche in Sprimont, which belongs to the University's collections, can be admired at the Curtius Museum in Liège, and a replica is on display at the Comblain Museum. This species was long considered a subspecies of the jaguar, but a recent study conducted by researchers at ULiège has proven that it is indeed a separate species, and that it is closer to the tiger than to the jaguar.
Article written in collaboration with Dr. Narimane Chatar, Melvin Vankelst and Prof. Valentin Fischer
Sources
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Chatar, N., Michaud, M. & Fischer, V. (2022). Not a jaguar after all? Phylogenetic affinities and morphology of the Pleistocene felid Panthera gombaszoegensis. Papers in Palaeontology., 8, e1464. https://doi.org/10.1002/spp2.1464
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