Archaeologists have unearthed the smallest known cat fossil at a site inhabited by archaic humans in eastern China. This diminutive feline, which has been identified as an extinct species of leopard cat, was so petite that it could comfortably fit in the palm of one's hand.

It was comparable in size to the two smallest existing feline species — the rusty-spotted cat and the black-footed cat, which are much smaller than the modern leopard cat.

Researchers from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences unearthed the fossil in a cave at the Hualongdong site in Anhui province.

The new species has been named Prionailurus kurteni or P. kurteni, according to a study published online in the peer-reviewed journal, Annales Zoologici Fennici.

Molecular biological research has long supported the notion of a common ancestor for the leopard cat, the domestic cat, and Pallas's cat. However, no fossil evidence had been identified before the discovery. Forest habitats where leopard cats live are not ideally suited to bone preservation.

The fossil shows evidence of an inclined first molar, providing evidence from its jawbone and teeth that support the notion of a common ancestor for all three cat species, according to the study.

Chinese scientists have previously discovered dozens of archaic human fossils at the site, dating back 300,000 years. These are the earliest fossils found so far in East Asia that are part of the evolutionary process of Homo sapiens, or modern humans, which first appeared in Africa some 315,000 years ago, but were not present in eastern Asia until around 45,000 years ago.

"The food scraps these archaic humans left at the Hualongdong site might have attracted rats and small leopard cats as well," says Jiangzuo Qigao from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, the first author of the paper.

"It's unclear whether these cats constituted part of the cave dwellers' diet, due to the absence of butchery marks on the fossils," he adds.

The identification of P. kurteni suggests a potentially high diversity of leopard cats during prehistoric times, according to the study.

The discovery of animal fossils at the Hualongdong site may help shed light on the environment, diet and potential threats faced by archaic humans, he says.

Researchers from the Swedish Museum of Natural History and the Northeast Forestry University in China also participated in the study.

Discovered in late 1988, the Hualongdong site has yielded remarkable finds since excavations began in 2013.

Approximately 20 individual archaic human fossils, including a relatively complete skull, over 400 stone artifacts, numerous bone fragments with evidence of cutting and chopping, and more than 80 vertebrate fossils have been unearthed at the site.