Fossils of world's oldest tiger found in China

FRIDAY, 02 DECEMBER 2011 19:57 PTI | WASHINGTON HITS: 728 Scientists have discovered what they believe is the oldest ever extinct species of tiger which lived in what is now northwestern China more than two million years ago. Although the skull of the ancient tiger, called Panthera zdanskyi, is smaller than most modern tigers, it appears very similar in shape, the researchers added. The jaguar-sized tiger, whose skull and jaw were found in northwestern China, is one of the largest living cats, a giant predator native to Asia, reaching up to 13 feet in length and weighing up to 300 kg. However, the beast's origins are under intense debate, with suggestions it arose in north-central China, southern China or northern Siberia, LiveScience reported. According to researchers, the tiger's fossils date back to 2.16 million to 2.55 million years, predating other known tiger fossils by up to a half-million years. This represents the oldest complete skull hitherto found of a pantherine cat -- the lineage that includes tigers and all other living big cats, said researcher Andrew Kitchener, principal curator of vertebrate biology at National Museums Scotland in Edinburgh. "The discovery of the identity of this fossil is vitally important for providing a greater understanding of the fossil history of big cats and the relationships between them." The fossils were unearthed in 2004 on the eastern slope of Longdan, a village in Gansu, China, giving it the informal name of the Longdan tiger. The skull of this extinct cat had robust, well-developed upper canine fangs and a relatively long nose, details typical of tigers. Although the size of the skull is comparable with that of the smallest females of living tiger subspecies, its overall shape suggests it belonged to a male, the researchers detailed in the journal PLoS ONE. Indeed, despite about two million years of separation, the skull of the Longdan tiger appears surprisingly similar to that of modern tigers, the researchers said. "It seems likely that this tiger's diet would have been similar to that of today's and would have included ungulates such as deer and pigs," Kitchener said. The researchers suggest this extinct cat was a sister species to the modern tiger. Their analysis argues that the tiger lineage developed features of its skull and upper teeth early on, while its lower jaw and teeth evolved at a different rate. A similar pattern of "mosaic evolution" is seen in the cheetah lineage, they noted. "It will be interesting to see whether further fossil big cats are discovered in China and elsewhere, which expand our knowledge of the distribution of this species and fill in more gaps in the tiger's fossil history," Kitchener said. "Confirming a more precise dating of Panthera zdanskyi would also be invaluable for understanding its position in the tiger's evolutionary timescale." http://www.dailypioneer.com/pioneer-news/dont-miss-it/24811-fossils-of-worlds-oldest-tiger-found-in-china.html