A brand new species of cat has been discovered thanks to fossils found in a cave in China.. Researchers have discovered a new species thanks to a fragment of a jaw bone and suggest that the species coexisted with ancient people between 275,000 and 331,000 years ago, writes IFLScience.

The new species has been named Prionailurus kurteni and is believed by scientists to belong to a wider group known as leopard cats. Note that from this group only a few species have survived to this day..

U Focus. Technologies has its own Telegram channel. Subscribe so you don't miss the latest and most exciting news from the world of science!

The team believes the new species is likely the smallest feline known to date - it is believed that Prionailurus kurteni could easily fit in the palm of a person. Scientists note that the new species is comparable to, and potentially even smaller than, some living species, such as the spotted tawny cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus) and the black-footed cat (Felis nigripes), which are among the smallest extant felines.. According to the study's lead author Qigao Jiangzuo, the new species of ancient cat is clearly smaller than a modern domestic cat, weighing only about 1 kilogram..

Findings of cat fossils in this region are extremely rare because the bones are often tiny and fragile, preventing them from being well preserved.. Most of the fossils scientists have previously discovered, including this one, are teeth and jawbones.. Unfortunately, this makes it difficult to identify the species and establish its relationships.

At the same time, Hualundong Cave, where the fossil was found, is something of a hotspot for scientific discoveries.. It has already become the source of many fossils presented in previous studies.. Previously, scientists have already discovered fossils of ancient people, brown bears and voles here.. The presence of these additional fossils led the team to suggest that the area was colder than other similar sites in southern China, and also to suggest a connection between the new cat species and the ancient humans who lived there.

According to Jiangzuo, food scraps left behind by ancient people may have attracted the attention of rats and small leopard cats.. However, scientists still do not know whether leopard cats were part of the diet of ancient people - researchers have not found traces of butchering on the fossils.

The angle of one of the fossil's teeth also suggests that the new species could likely provide a link between leopard cats and the common ancestor of the domestic cat, as well as the famous grumpy palass cat (Otocolobus manul)..

The study authors also note that they plan to continue their work studying fossil cats in China and around the world, which have not been studied much in the past.. The team believes that they will be able to further trace the origins and diversity of the cat family in the ancient history of the planet.

Focus previously wrote about what makes the black-footed cat unique and why it is almost impossible to see it.