|
Leopardus
''Leopardus'' is a genus comprising eight species of small cats native to the Americas. This genus is considered the oldest branch of a genetic lineage of small cats in the Americas whose common ancestor crossed the Bering land bridge from Asia to North America in the late Miocene. Characteristics ''Leopardus'' species have spotted fur, with ground colors ranging from pale buff, ochre, fulvous and tawny to light gray. Their small ears are rounded and white-spotted; their rhinarium is prominent and naked above, and their nostrils are widely separated. They have 36 chromosomes, whereas other felids have 38. Taxonomy The generic name ''Leopardus'' was proposed by John Edward Gray in 1842, when he described two spotted cat skins from Central America and two from India in the collection of the Natural History Museum, London. Several genera were proposed in the 19th and early 20th centuries for small spotted cats in the Americas, including: *''Dendrailurus'', ''Lynchailurus'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leopardus Pardalis
The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Two subspecies are recognized. It is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central and South America, and to the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Margarita. It prefers areas close to water sources with dense vegetation cover and high prey availability. Typically active during twilight and at night, the ocelot tends to be solitary and territorial. It is efficient at climbing, leaping and swimming. It preys on small terrestrial mammals, such as armadillos, opossums, and lagomorphs. Both sexes become sexually mature at around two years of age and can breed throughout the year; peak mating season varies geographically. After a gestation period of two to three months the female gives birth to a litter of one to three kittens. They stay with their mother for up to two years, after wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ocelot
The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Two subspecies are recognized. It is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central and South America, and to the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Margarita. It prefers areas close to water sources with dense vegetation cover and high prey availability. Typically active during twilight and at night, the ocelot tends to be solitary and territorial. It is efficient at climbing, leaping and swimming. It preys on small terrestrial mammals, such as armadillos, opossums, and lagomorphs. Both sexes become sexually mature at around two years of age and can breed throughout the year; peak mating season varies geographically. After a gestation period of two to three months the female gives birth to a litter of one to three kittens. They stay with their mother for up to two years, after which the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oncilla
The oncilla (''Leopardus tigrinus''), also known as the northern tiger cat, little spotted cat, and tigrillo, is a small spotted cat ranging from Central America to central Brazil. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and the population is threatened by deforestation and conversion of habitat to agricultural land. In 2013, it was proposed to assign the oncilla populations in southern Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina to a new species: the southern tiger cat (''L. guttulus''), after it was found that it does not interbreed with the oncilla population in northeastern Brazil. Characteristics The oncilla resembles the margay (''L. wiedii'') and the ocelot (''L. pardalis''), but it is smaller, with a slender build and narrower muzzle. Oncillas are one of the smallest wild cats in South America, reaching a body length of with a long tail. While this is somewhat longer than the average domestic cat, the oncilla is generally lighter, weighing . The fur is thick and soft, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pampas Cat
The Pampas cat (''Leopardus colocola'') is a small wild cat native to South America. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List as habitat conversion and destruction may cause the population to decline in the future. It is named after the Pampas, but occurs in grassland, shrubland, and dry forest at elevations up to . There was a proposal to divide the Pampas cat into three distinct species, based primarily on differences in pelage colour/pattern and cranial measurements. Accordingly, three species were recognised in the 2005 edition of ''Mammal Species of the World'': the colocolo (''L. colocolo''), the Pantanal cat (''L. braccatus''), and the Pampas cat (''L. pajeros'') with a more restricted definition. This split at species level was not supported by subsequent phylogeographic analysis, although some geographical substructure was recognised, and some authorities continue to recognise the Pampas cat as a single species. In the 2017 revision of felid taxonomy by the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Felinae
The Felinae are a subfamily of the family Felidae. This subfamily comprises the small cats having a bony hyoid, because of which they are able to purr but not roar. Other authors have proposed an alternative definition for this subfamily: as comprising only the living conical-toothed cat genera with two tribes, the Felini and Pantherini; thus excluding all fossil cat species. Characteristics The members of the Felinae have retractile claws that are protected by at least one cutaneous lobe. Their larynx is kept close to the base of the skull by an ossified hyoid. They can purr owing to the vocal folds being shorter than . The cheetah ''Acinonyx'' does not have cutaneous sheaths for guarding claws. Taxonomy The term 'Felini' was first used in 1817 by Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim, at the time for all the cat species that had been proposed as belonging to the genus ''Felis''. In 1917, Reginald Innes Pocock also subordinated the following genera to the Felinae that had been propo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margay
The margay (''Leopardus wiedii'') is a small wild cat native to Central and South America. A solitary and nocturnal cat, it lives mainly in primary evergreen and deciduous forest. Until the 1990s, margays were hunted illegally for the wildlife trade, which resulted in a large population decrease. Since 2008, the margay has been listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List because the population is thought to be declining due to loss of habitat following deforestation. The scientific name ''Felis wiedii'' was used by Heinrich Rudolf Schinz in 1821 in his first scientific description of the margay, in honour of Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied, who collected specimens in Brazil. Characteristics The margay is very similar to the larger ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') in appearance, although the head is a little shorter, the eyes larger, and the tail and legs longer. It weighs from , with a body length of and a tail length of . Unlike most other cats, the female possesses only ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kodkod
The kodkod (''Leopardus guigna'') (), also called guiña, is the smallest felid species native to the Americas. It lives primarily in central and southern Chile, as well as marginally in adjoining areas of Argentina. Since 2002, it has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List as the total population may be less than 10,000 mature individuals; it is threatened by persecution, and loss of habitat and prey base. Characteristics The kodkod's fur color ranges from brownish-yellow to grey-brown. It has dark spots, a pale underside and a ringed tail. The ears are black with a white spot, while the dark spots on the shoulders and neck almost merge to form a series of dotted streaks. Melanistic kodkods with spotted black coats are quite common. It has a small head, large feet, and a thick tail. Adult kodkods are in head to body length with a short tail and a shoulder height of about . Weight ranges between . Melanistic phenotype The melanistic phenotype is caused by the deletion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geoffroy's Cat
Geoffroy's cat (''Leopardus geoffroyi'') is a small wild cat native to the southern and central regions of South America. It is about the size of a domestic cat. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because it is widespread and abundant over most of its range. Taxonomy Geoffroy's cat is named after the 19th century French zoologist Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1772–1844). It was identified as ''Felis geoffroyi'' in 1844 by French naturalists Alcide d'Orbigny and P. Gervais on the basis of three specimens that d'Orbigny had collected on the banks of the Rio Negro in Patagonia during his travels in South America between 1826 and 1833. Five subspecies have been described based on geographic dispersement: *''L. g. geoffroyi'': Central Argentina *''L. g. euxantha'': Northern Argentina, Western Bolivia *''L. g. leucobapta'': Patagonia *''L. g. paraguae'': Paraguay, Southeastern Brazil, Uruguay, Northern Argentina *''L. g. salinarum'': Northwestern and Central Arg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in 2009 by the International Union of Geological Sciences, the cutoff of the Pleistocene and the preceding Pliocene was regarded as being 1.806 million years Before Present (BP). Publications from earlier years may use either definition of the period. The end of the Pleistocene corresponds with the end of the last glacial period and also with the end of the Paleolithic age used in archaeology. The name is a combination of Ancient Greek grc, label=none, πλεῖστος, pleīstos, most and grc, label=none, καινός, kainós (latinized as ), 'new'. At the end of the preceding Pliocene, the previously isolated North and South American continents were joined by the Isthmus of Panama, causing Great American Interchang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Generic Name (biology)
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus. :E.g. ''Panthera leo'' (lion) and ''Panthera onca'' (jaguar) are two species within the genus ''Panthera''. ''Panthera'' is a genus within the family Felidae. The composition of a genus is determined by taxonomists. The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. There are some general practices used, however, including the idea that a newly defined genus should fulfill these three criteria to be descriptively useful: # monophyly – all descendants of an ancestral taxon are grouped together (i.e. phylogenetic analysis should clearly demonstr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nostril
A nostril (or naris , plural ''nares'' ) is either of the two orifices of the nose. They enable the entry and exit of air and other gasses through the nasal cavities. In birds and mammals, they contain branched bones or cartilages called turbinates, whose function is to warm air on inhalation and remove moisture on exhalation. Fish do not breathe through noses, but they do have two (but cyclostomes have merged into one) small holes used for smelling, which can also be referred to as nostrils. In humans, the nasal cycle is the normal ultradian cycle of each nostril's blood vessels becoming engorged in swelling, then shrinking. The nostrils are separated by the septum. The septum can sometimes be deviated, causing one nostril to appear larger than the other. With extreme damage to the septum and columella, the two nostrils are no longer separated and form a single larger external opening. Like other tetrapods, humans have two external nostrils (anterior nares) and two additi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chromosome
A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are the histones. These proteins, aided by chaperone proteins, bind to and condense the DNA molecule to maintain its integrity. These chromosomes display a complex three-dimensional structure, which plays a significant role in transcriptional regulation. Chromosomes are normally visible under a light microscope only during the metaphase of cell division (where all chromosomes are aligned in the center of the cell in their condensed form). Before this happens, each chromosome is duplicated ( S phase), and both copies are joined by a centromere, resulting either in an X-shaped structure (pictured above), if the centromere is located equatorially, or a two-arm structure, if the centromere is located distally. The joined copies are now called si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
-8.jpg "Click for more on -> Leopardus")
_fur_skins.jpg "Click for more on -> Oncilla")
_on_the_road.jpg "Click for more on -> Felinae")
.jpg "Click for more on -> Margay")
_by_Daniel_Giraud_Elliot.JPG "Click for more on -> Geoffroy's Cat")
