The Oldest Big Cat

P.blytheae really was beautiful

So, as I'm a huge big cat person, (little ones are nice too) I couldn't not cover the story that the oldest fossil to date of a big cat, named Panthera blytheae, has been found in the Himalayas, Tibet, of all places.
The fossil discovery changes the belief of where cats originated from,  which was thought to have been Africa but the new finding suggests that they spread from Asia instead. The fossils  found are believed to be part of a 'sister' group to the snow leopards seen today but a little smaller with some facial features differing in size.
The subfamily group Pantherinae consists of Lions, Jaguars, Tigers, Leopards including snow and clouded leopards and the findings from the fossils discovered that the subfamily diverged from Felinae earlier than expected, around 6.37 million years ago!
The fossils were found in 2010 and there was thought to be  3 individuals present,  all of different ages.

The fact that we now have a deeper understanding of the origin of big cats is exciting but if the hypothesis that they originated in Asia is true  then it seems a sad state of affairs that the place the animals developed into such beautiful, majestic and powerful creatures is the place that is likely to drive them to extinction due to the demands for their skin, bone and livelihood.

To read more:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24913291
http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/281/1774/20132686 - Scientific Paper