Editing Proailurus (section)

==Evolution==
''Proailurus'' is believed to have evolved from earlier ailuroid carnivorans such as ''Stenogale'' and ''Haplogale''.<ref name=Hunt1998/> It is a likely ancestor of ''[[Pseudaelurus]]'', which lived 20–10 million years ago, and probably gave rise to the major felid lines, including the extinct [[Machairodontinae|machairodontines]] and the extant [[Felinae|felines]] and [[Pantherinae|pantherines]], although the [[phylogeny]] of the cats is still not precisely known.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Christiansen, Per |title=Phylogeny of the great cats (Felidae: Pantherinae), and the influence of fossil taxa and missing characters |journal=Cladistics |year=2008 |doi=10.1111/j.1096-0031.2008.00226.x |volume=24 |issue=6 |pages=977–992|pmid=34892880 |s2cid=84497516 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

''Proailurus'' is largely considered to be the first "true" cat and the ancestor of the entire cat family. Most studies support this, placing ''Proailurus'' as the basal member of the Felidae.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Rothwell, Tom |title=Phylogenetic Systematics of North American ''Pseudaelurus'' (Carnivora: Felidae) |journal=American Museum Novitates |issue=2403 |pages=1–64 |year=2003 |doi=10.1206/0003-0082(2003)403<0001:PSONAP>2.0.CO;2 |hdl=2246/2829|s2cid=67753626 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/292668 }}</ref> One 2005 phylogeny placed it as a basal member of the Feliformia,<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Wesley-Hunt, Gina D. |author2=Flynn, John J. |title=Phylogeny of the Carnivora: basal relationships among the Carnivoramorphans, and assessment of the position of 'Miacoidea' relative to Carnivora |journal=Journal of Systematic Palaeontology |volume=145 |issue=3 |pages=1–28 |year=2005 |doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.2005.00194.x|doi-access=free }}</ref> but later studies do not support this.<ref name=Werdelin2010/>