Puma (/ˈpjuːmə/ or /ˈpuːmə/) is a genus in the family Felidae whose only extant species is the cougar (also known as the puma, mountain lion, and panther,[2] among other names), and may also include several poorly known Old World fossil representatives (for example, Puma pardoides, or Owen's panther, a large, cougar-like cat of Eurasia's Pliocene).[3][4] In addition to these potential Old World fossils, a few New World fossil representatives are possible, such as Puma pumoides[5] and the two species of the so-called "American cheetah", currently classified under the genus Miracinonyx.[6]
^Hemmer, H. (1965). Studien an "Panthera" schaubi Viret aus dem Villafranchien von Saint-Vallier (Drôme). Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen 122, 324–336.
^Hemmer, H., Kahlike, R.-D. & Vekua, A. K. (2004). The Old World puma Puma pardoides (Owen, 1846) (Carnivora: Felidae) in the Lower Villafranchian (Upper Pliocene) of Kvabebi (East Georgia, Transcaucasia) and its evolutionary and biogeographical significance. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen 233, 197–233.
^Chimento, Nicolas Roberto, Maria Rosa Derguy, and Helmut Hemmer. "Puma (Herpailurus) pumoides (Castellanos, 1958)(Mammalia, Felidae) del Plioceno de Argentina." Serie Correlación Geológica 30.2 (2015).