Sivapardus

Sivapardus (†Sivapardus (Bakr, 1969))

Order: Carnivora

Family: Felidae

Time period: Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene of Upper Siwaliks in Pakistan

Dimensions: 1,5m in length, 80-90 cm in height, 60-110 kg of weight.

Sivapardus is an extinct, little-known genus of feline with only one species assigned to it, Sivapardus punjabiensis. It was a large cat with a short and broad snout that may have lived on open grasslands. It was described in 1969 by the paleontologist Abu Bakr based on a partial mandible from the Upper Siwaliks in Pakistan; the locality it was found at is estimated to be from the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene. 

Bakr described the species as similar to Sivapanthera in general proportions, with the major difference being the masseteric fossa; this feature also set it apart from Panthera and Acinonyx. The distinct shape of the masseteric fossa was given as the diagnostic feature of the genus and species. Bakr described Sivapardus punjabiensis as a cat with a short and broad snout similar to that of the cheetah-like Sivapanthera, larger in size than a leopard but smaller than a lion.