Oldest Big Cat Fossils Ever Found Unearthed in Tibet

Panthera blytheae, "similar to a snow leopard"

The oldest big cat fossils ever found—from a previously unknown species "similar to a snow leopard"—have been unearthed in the Himalayas.

The skull fragments of the newly-named Panthera blytheae have been dated between 4.1 and 5.95 million years old.

Their discovery in Tibet supports the theory that big cats evolved in central Asia—not Africa—and spread outward.