Vishnufelis is an early fossil genus of feline containing only a single species, Vishnufelis laticeps. It was described by Guy Ellcock Pilgrim in 1932, based on the first felid cranial material found in Asia: a fragmented skull found in the Chinji Formation, which dates back to the middle Miocene.
History and naming
The holotype and only specimen, two large fragments of a skull along with several smaller pieces, was collected by one K. Aiyengar from the Chinji Formation, some east of Paridarwaza in Jhelum, India. The fossils were placed in the collection in Calcutta of the Geological Survey of India, listed as GSI-D266. In 1932, paleontologist Guy Ellcock Pilgrim described the fossils as the new genus and species Vishnufelis laticeps. Additionally, he drew the fossils and a reconstruction of the skull on Plate IX, figures 1, 1a, and 1b in the same paper.
No etymology for the generic or specific names was given by Pilgrim, but the specific name laticeps, meaning "wide-headed" in Latin, is a common taxonomic epithet.
In 1978, additional fossils of Vishnufelis were reported from the upper Lower Siwaliks in Ramnagar.
Description
Pilgrim described it as a primitive feline of medium size with a low, elongated skull. The nasals are short and narrow, while the zygomatic arches are broad. The second premolar was very small and situated halfway between the canine and third premolar. The third premolar was likewise reduced. At least three incisors and the fourth premolar are present on the fossil. He considered it most similar to the clouded leopard among extant cats. Colbert, in his 1935 summary of Siwalik fossils, described it as small.
Classification
Pilgrim in his original description assigned it to the subfamily Felinae, albeit a very primitive one.
Paleobiology
Vishnufelis had sharp teeth and probably preyed on smaller animals.
Paleoenvironment
The Lower Siwaliks of Ramnagar were likely a half-closed, half-open woodlands ecosystem with grassy areas, riddled with waterways and floodplain channels and ponds.
A 2020 analysis of carnivoran species considered it part of the a Middle Miocene paleobiogeographic province in southern Asia.