Paleobiogeographic implications of additional Felidae (Carnivora, Mammalia) specimens from the Siwaliks

Felids from G.E. Lewis' Yale Peabody Museum collection of Siwalik fossil mammals are described, and palaeobiogeography is interpreted based on these specimens. Five felid taxa are recognised from these Miocene-Pliocene Siwalik Group collections, including three from the Chinji Zone: Sivaelurus chinjiensis, Sivaelurus sp., Pseudaelurus sp.; one from the Nagri Zone: Leptofelis cf. vallesiensis; and one from the Tatrot Zone: Metailurus cf. hengduanshanensis. Sivaelurus chinjiensis is similar to Miopanthera lorteti in morphology, and Miopanthera thus is viewed as a junior synonym of Sivaelurus. Leptofelis cf. vallesiensis from the Nagri Zone represents the first record of this genus in southern Asia, and Metailurus cf. hengduanshanensis represents one of the latest occurrences of the genus, suggesting that Metailurus survived into the late Pliocene widely in Asia. Carnivoran faunas suggest that during the Middle Miocene southern Asia shared more taxa with Europe than with eastern Asia, and a newly recognised Euroriental paleorealm is proposed based on this biogeographic pattern. Since the late Late Miocene, the similarity of southern and eastern Asian carnivoran faunas increased. This pattern coincides with that of proboscideans, and was probably controlled by geographic and environmental changes caused by the rise of the Tibetan Plateau.