The Iberian lynx (Lynx parinus), sometimes referred to as the Spanish lynx, is a critically endangered feline mammal native to the Iberian Peninsula in Southern Europe. The species often used to be misclassified as a subspecies of the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), but is now considered a separate species. Both species occurred together in central Europe in the Pleistocene epoch, being separated by habitat choice. The Iberian lynx is believed to have evolved from Lynx issiodorensis.