Megantereon CROIZET et JOBERT, 1828

Genus? Megantereon CROIZET et JOBERT, 1828 or Puma JARDINE, 1834

Text-fig. 14

L o c a l i t y. Milia.

M a t e r i a l. Tibia distal left MIL 974.

D i s c u s s i o n. This distal tibia represents a felid. This specimen is smaller than that of the scimitar-toothed cat Homotherium FABRINI, 1890 , which is one of the three carnivores from the MN 16a mammalian assemblage of Milia ( H. crenatidens (WEITHOFER, 1889) , Ursus etruscus CUVIER, 1823 , and Agriotherium sp. ; Tsoukala et al. 2014). In addition, its intermalleolar notch is deeper than that of Homotherium ( Ballesio 1963) . The other scimitar-toothed cats, present during the Late Pliocene, are Dinofelis ZDANSKY, 1924 and Megantereon . In Dinofelis , the medial side is more concave than in the Milia tibia, because the medial malleolus is medially more prominent, and the line passing through the base of the medial malleolus and the lowest point of the central malleolus is less oblique ( Werdelin and Lewis 2001: fig. 21). Concerning Megantereon cultridens (CUVIER, 1824) , the distal articulation shows some similarities, but the distal width is greater than that in the Milia specimen ( Christiansen and Adolfssen 2007). The Villafranchian Acinonyx pardinensis (CROIZET et JOBERT, 1828) has a shorter central malleolus and an intermalleolar notch less deep with, in cranial view, the inflection point of the notch’s curve in a more medial position ( Hemmer 2001: pl. 137). The Milia tibia could belong to a felid with a size close to that of Puma pardoides (OWEN, 1846) . This species could be a good candidate. The dimensions are of the same order as the individuals from La Puebla del Valverde ( Madurell-Malapeira et al. 2010) and Untermassfeld ( Hemmer et al. 2004), two localities that are more recent than Milia ( Tab. 6). However, their morphology is not exactly the same: cranially, the inflection point of the intermalleolar notch’s curve has a rather more medial position than in Milia, and it is similar to the current P. concolor (LINNAEUS, 1771) . The cochlear grooves of the Milia tibia are more asymmetric. Consequently, the attribution of the Milia tibia is under question. We are sure that it cannot belong to a Homotherium , Dinofelis , or a cheetah.

This single and incomplete specimen does not provide enough material to conclude with certainty that it belongs to a Megantereon female (the Senèze skeleton analysed by Christiansen and Adolfssen (2007) is undeniably a male) or a new species of Puma . In any case, regardless of the genus, this would most likely represent the oldest record in Eurasia: previously, the first appearance of Megantereon dated from the early Villafranchian (middle Pliocene; Berta and Galiano 1983) (first known in Europe probably in Les Étouaires; see Hemmer and Kahlke 2022), and that of Puma is at ca. 3.1 Ma in Asia ( Mongolia) and around 2.8 Ma in Europe, i.e., MN 16b (also the French locality of Les Étouaires; Hemmer et al. 2004, Nomade et al. 2014). For the time being, it is more reasonable to leave the nomenclature open.