Basic info Taxonomic history Classification Included Taxa
Morphology Ecology and taphonomy External Literature Search Age range and collections

Lynx (lynx)

Mammalia - Carnivora - Felidae

Taxonomy
Lynx was named by Kerr (1792) [type Eurasian Lynx lynx attribution to Kerr discussed by Allen 1895 type Eurasian Lynx lynx attributed by Allen 1895 to Rafinesque 1818]. It is extant.

It was reranked as Felis (Lynx) by Mooser and Dalquest (1975); it was synonymized subjectively with Felis by Hemmer (1978), Groves (1982) and Tumlison (1987).

It was assigned to Felis by Mooser and Dalquest (1975); to Felidae by Kerr (1792), Cope (1880), Matyushkin (1979), Werdelin (1981), Carroll (1988), Garcia-Perea (1992), Wilson and Reeder (1993), Geraads (1997) and Werdelin and Peigne (2010); and to Felinae by Kurten and Anderson (1980), Martin (1998), Johnson et al. (2006) and Breitenmoser and Breitenmoser (2017).

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1792Lynx Kerr
1825Lyncus Gray p. 339
1880Lynx Cope p. 852
1975Felis (Lynx) Mooser and Dalquest p. 790
1979Lynx Matyushkin
1980Lynx Kurten and Anderson p. 196
1981Lynx Werdelin
1988Lynx Carroll
1992Lynx Garcia-Perea
1993Lynx Wilson and Reeder
1997Lynx Geraads p. 145
1998Lynx Martin p. 238
2006Lynx Johnson et al. p. 74
2010Lynx Werdelin and Peigne p. 651
2017Lynx Breitenmoser and Breitenmoser p. 38

Is something missing? Join the Paleobiology Database and enter the data

RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
Bilateria
EubilateriaAx 1987
Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
Tetrapoda
Reptiliomorpha
Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
Cotylosauria()
Amniota
subclassSynapsida
Therapsida()
infraorderCynodontia()
Mammaliamorpha
Mammaliaformes
RankNameAuthor
classMammalia
Theriamorpha(Rowe 1993)
Theriiformes()
Trechnotheria
Cladotheria
Zatheria
subclassTribosphenida()
subclassTheria
Eutheria()
Placentalia
Boreoeutheria
Laurasiatheria
Scrotifera
Ferae()
CarnivoramorphaWyss and Flynn 1993
CarnivoraformesFlynn et al.
orderCarnivora
suborderFeliformiaKretzoi 1945
superfamilyFeloideaHay 1930
familyFelidae
subfamilyFelinaeTrouessart 1885
genusLynxKerr 1792

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

G. Lynx Kerr 1792 [lynx]
show all | hide all
Lynx canadensis Kerr 1792 [Canadian lynx]
Lynx issiodorensis Croizet and Jobert 1828
Lynx longignathus Shotwell 1956
Lynx lynx Linnaeus 1758 [Eurasian lynx]
Lynx pardinus Temminck 1827 [Iberian lynx]
Lynx proterolyncis Savage 1941
Lynx rufus Schreber 1777 [bobcat]
hide
Invalid names: Felis calcaratus Cope 1899 [synonym], Lynx compressus Brown 1908 [synonym]
Lynx shansius Teilhard de Chardin and Leroy 1945
Lynx texensis Allen 1895
Invalid names: Felis (Lynx) vulgaris maculatus Kerr 1792 [replaced], Lyncus Gray 1825 [synonym]
Diagnosis
No diagnoses are available
Measurements
partNmean

Composition: phosphaticsubp
Environment: terrestrialsubc
Locomotion: actively mobilec
Life habit: scansorialf
Diet: carnivoreg
Reproduction: viviparoussubc
Created: 2009-01-04 14:06:54
Modified: 2009-01-04 16:06:54
Source: g = genus, f = family, subc = subclass, c = class, subp = subphylum
References: Lillegraven 1979, Nowak 1991, Van Valkenburgh 1988, Carroll 1988, Hendy et al. 2009, Ji et al. 2002

Age range

Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Early/Lower Pliocene to the top of the Holocene or 5.33300 to 0.00000 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 4.9 Ma

Collections (192 total)

Oldest occurrences

Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Hemphillian10.3 - 4.9USA (Oregon) Felis longignathus (18970)
Hemphillian10.3 - 4.9USA (Texas) Felis proterolyncis (18097)
Hemphillian10.3 - 4.9USA (Oklahoma) Felis proterolyncis (18304)
Messinian - Piacenzian7.246 - 2.588South Africa (Cape) Felis issiodorensis (59167)
Early/Lower Pliocene5.333 - 3.6Moldova Lynx issiodorensis (198590)
Zanclean5.333 - 3.6South Africa Felis issiodorensis (22221 22222)
Ruscinian5.333 - 3.2Spain (Soria) Lynx issiodorensis (40548)
Ruscinian5.333 - 3.2Turkey (Ankara) Lynx issiodorensis (34370)
Ruscinian5.333 - 3.2Russian Federation (Stavropol'skaya) Felis issiodorensis (40394)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Romania Felis issiodorensis (39845)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Greece (Peloponnisos) Lynx issiodorensis (34655)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Russian Federation (Stavropol'skaya) Felis lynx (76537)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Spain (Albacete) Felis issiodorensis (40564)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Russian Federation (Rostovskaya Oblast') Felis sp. (39409)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Georgia Felis issiodorensis (40392)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Kazakhstan Lynx issiodorensis (34437)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Tajikistan Lynx issiodorensis (34444)
Ruscinian - Villanyian5.333 - 2.588Hungary (Barany) Lynx sp. (35354)
Pliocene - Pleistocene5.333 - 0.0117Hungary (Barany) Lynx sp. (35359)
MN 144.9 - 4.2Ukraine Lynx brevirostris (50913)