Acinonyx pardinensis (Croizet et Jobert) remains from the Middle Villafranchian locality of Varshets (Bulgaria) and the Plio-Pleistocene history of the cheetahs in Eurasia

The article decribes and discusses remains of late Pliocene (middle Villafranchian) cheetah, Acinonyx pardinensis (Croizet et Jobert) from Varshets, N.-W. Bulgaria. It is accepted that three chronoforms A. pardinensis pardinensis, A. p. pleistocaenicus and A. p. intermedius succeed in Europe from the Early Villafranchian (Etouaires, approx. 2.6 Ma) till the Middle Pleistocene. Remains are scarce and at this level of knowledge we could accept the recently proposed subspecific status of all these forms but their taxonomical relations could be rather more complicate. The remains from Varshets correspond to the earliest form A. pardinensis pardinensis which inhabited Eurasia during the late Early and the Middle Villafranchian and the beginning of the Pleistocene. Other European remains of A. p. pardinensis are known only from Spain, France, Italy and the Azov region of Southern Russia. It seems that then the species occupied only the southern part of the European continent (the Mediterranean-Balkan-Northern peri-Pontic area), and from there it probably spread till Central Asia (Tajikistan). Such a distribution supports the concept of the faunal entity of South Europe in Villafranchian time as well as the theory for the Central Asian influence of this fauna mainly trough the Balkans by two ways: via Bosphorus and via the peri-Pontic area. According to the paleontological data the fossil Acinonyx does not reach Central Europe (Austria and Germany) before the Epivillafranchian, possibly after new waves of dispersal of another, Early Pleistocene form of Central Asia. The relationship of the Middle Villafranchian A. pardinensis with the rather contemporaneous forms from China (Hezheng) “Sivapanthera” linxiaensis and A. kurteni and from Siwaliks is not clear, but the Chinese forms must represent taxa different from A. pardinensis. Acinonyx s. str. is characterized by strongly domed and enlarged frontal area, shortened skull and downwards inclined neurocranium. The new data argue the supposition of its Eurasian origin at the end of the Ruscinian/ beginning of the Villafranchian. Se describen y discuten restos de guepardo, Acinonyxpardinensis (Criozet&Jobert) del Plioceno final (Villafranquiense medio) de Varshets, NW de Bulgaria. Se acepta la existencia de tres cronoformas A. pardinensispardinensis, A. p. pleistocaenicus y A.p. intermedius que se suceden en Europa desde el comienzo del Villafranquiese (Etouaires, ca. 2,6 Ma) hasta el Pleistoceno medio. Aunque los restos fósiles son escasos podemos aceptar la reciente propuesta de un estatus subespecífico para todas