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Evolution Theories
-It is possible that a new fossil find is a skull of the ancestor of todays snow leopards. The oldest big cat fossils ever found – from a previously unknown species “similar to a snow leopard” – have been unearthed in the Himalayas. Pieces of skull of the newly-named Panthera blytheae have been dated between 4.1 and 5.95 million years old.
The findings by US and Chinese palaeontologists now points to big cats having evolved in Central Asia and not Africa as previous theories suggest. Both anatomical and DNA data was used by the researchers to determine that the skulls belonged to an extinct big cat, whose territory appears to overlap many of the species we know today.
Habitat
-Snow leopards have evolved to live in some of the harshest conditions on Earth. Their white-gray coat spotted with large black rosettes blends in perfectly with the steep and rocky mountains of Central Asia. Snow leopard habitat covers about 2 million square kilometres in 12 countries across the majestic Himalayan Mountains and the mountains of Central Asia. The Snow leopard's typical habitat characteristics are mountains with steep slopes dotted by rocky bluffs, ridges broken by outcrops, and valleys interrupted by cliffs. Snow leopards love this sort of habitat because it provides them with good cover to hide amongst rocks and cliffs when hunting. Most snow leopard habitat is also at very high altitudes. They live between 3000 – 4500 m (9800 – 14,800′) and sometimes hunt wild prey like argali (mountain sheep) and ibex (wild goat) as high as 5500 m (18,000′) in the summer. Living in these high altitudes is another reason why snow leopards are so rarely seen.
-It is possible that a new fossil find is a skull of the ancestor of todays snow leopards. The oldest big cat fossils ever found – from a previously unknown species “similar to a snow leopard” – have been unearthed in the Himalayas. Pieces of skull of the newly-named Panthera blytheae have been dated between 4.1 and 5.95 million years old.
The findings by US and Chinese palaeontologists now points to big cats having evolved in Central Asia and not Africa as previous theories suggest. Both anatomical and DNA data was used by the researchers to determine that the skulls belonged to an extinct big cat, whose territory appears to overlap many of the species we know today.
Habitat
-Snow leopards have evolved to live in some of the harshest conditions on Earth. Their white-gray coat spotted with large black rosettes blends in perfectly with the steep and rocky mountains of Central Asia. Snow leopard habitat covers about 2 million square kilometres in 12 countries across the majestic Himalayan Mountains and the mountains of Central Asia. The Snow leopard's typical habitat characteristics are mountains with steep slopes dotted by rocky bluffs, ridges broken by outcrops, and valleys interrupted by cliffs. Snow leopards love this sort of habitat because it provides them with good cover to hide amongst rocks and cliffs when hunting. Most snow leopard habitat is also at very high altitudes. They live between 3000 – 4500 m (9800 – 14,800′) and sometimes hunt wild prey like argali (mountain sheep) and ibex (wild goat) as high as 5500 m (18,000′) in the summer. Living in these high altitudes is another reason why snow leopards are so rarely seen.