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Felids
Felidae () is the family of mammals in the order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a felid (). The term "cat" refers both to felids in general and specifically to the domestic cat (''Felis catus''). Felidae species exhibit the most diverse fur pattern of all terrestrial carnivores. Cats have retractile claws, slender muscular bodies and strong flexible forelimbs. Their teeth and facial muscles allow for a powerful bite. They are all obligate carnivores, and most are solitary predators ambushing or stalking their prey. Wild cats occur in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas. Some wild cat species are adapted to forest habitats, some to arid environments, and a few also to wetlands and mountainous terrain. Their activity patterns range from nocturnal and crepuscular to diurnal, depending on their preferred prey species. Reginald Innes Pocock divided the extant Felidae into three subfamilies: the Panther ... [...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 whic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cougar
The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. It is an adaptable, generalist species, occurring in most American habitat types. This wide range has brought it many common names, including puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther (for the Florida sub-population). It is the second-largest cat in the New World, after the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Secretive and largely solitary by nature, the cougar is properly considered both nocturnal and crepuscular, although daytime sightings do occur. Despite its size, the cougar is more closely related to smaller felines, including the domestic cat (''Felis catus'') than to any species of the subfamily Pantherinae. The cougar is an ambush predator that pursues a wide variety of prey. Primary food sources are ungulates, particularly deer, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canada Lynx
The Canada lynx (''Lynx canadensis''), or Canadian lynx, is a medium-sized North American lynx that ranges across Alaska, Canada, and northern areas of the contiguous United States. It is characterized by its long, dense fur, triangular ears with black tufts at the tips, and broad, snowshoe-like paws. Its hindlimbs are longer than the forelimbs, so its back slopes downward to the front. The Canada lynx stands tall at the shoulder and weighs between . The lynx is a good swimmer and an agile climber. The Canada lynx was first described by Robert Kerr in 1792. Three subspecies have been proposed, but their validity is doubted; it is mostly considered a monotypic species. A specialist predator, the Canada lynx depends heavily on the snowshoe hare (''Lepus americanus'') for food. This leads to a prey-predator cycle, as Canada lynxes respond to the cyclic rises and falls in snowshoe hare populations over the years in Alaska and central Canada. The Canada lynx population incre ... [...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 b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Domestic Cat
The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of the family. Cats are commonly kept as house pets but can also be farm cats or feral cats; the feral cat ranges freely and avoids human contact. Domestic cats are valued by humans for companionship and their ability to kill rodents. About 60 cat breeds are recognized by various cat registries. The cat is similar in anatomy to the other felid species: they have a strong flexible body, quick reflexes, sharp teeth, and retractable claws adapted to killing small prey. Their night vision and sense of smell are well developed. Cat communication includes vocalizations like meowing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling, and grunting as well as cat-specific body language. Although the cat is a social species, they are a solitary hunter. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serval
The serval (''Leptailurus serval'') is a wild cat native to Africa. It is widespread in sub-Saharan countries, except rainforest regions. Across its range, it occurs in protected areas, and hunting it is either prohibited or regulated in range countries. It is the sole member of the genus ''Leptailurus''. Three subspecies are recognised. The serval is a slender, medium-sized cat that stands at the shoulder and weighs . It is characterised by a small head, large ears, a golden-yellow to buff coat spotted and striped with black, and a short, black-tipped tail. The serval has the longest legs of any cat relative to its body size. The serval is a solitary carnivore and active both by day and at night. It preys on rodents, particularly vlei rats, small birds, frogs, insects, and reptiles, using its sense of hearing to locate prey. It leaps over above the ground to land on the prey on its forefeet, and finally kills it with a bite on the neck or the head. Both sexes establish h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fishing Cat
The fishing cat (''Prionailurus viverrinus'') is a medium-sized wild cat of South and Southeast Asia. Since 2016, it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Fishing cat populations are threatened by destruction of wetlands and have declined severely over the last decade. The fishing cat lives foremost in the vicinity of wetlands, along rivers, streams, oxbow lakes, in swamps, and mangroves. The fishing cat is the state animal of West Bengal. Taxonomy ''Felis viverrinus'' was proposed by Edward Turner Bennett in 1833 who described a fishing cat skin from India. '' Prionailurus'' was proposed by Nikolai Severtzov in 1858 as generic name for spotted wild cats native to Asia. ''Felis viverrinus rhizophoreus'' was proposed by Henri Jacob Victor Sody in 1936 who described a specimen from the north coast of West Java that had a slightly shorter skull than fishing cat specimens from Thailand. There is evidence that the nominate taxon and the Javan fishing cat are distinguish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proailurus
''Proailurus'' is an extinct felid genus that lived in Europe and Asia approximately 25 million years ago in the Late Oligocene and Miocene. Fossils have been found in Mongolia, Germany, and Spain. Etymology The generic name ''Proailurus'' comes from the Greek , meaning 'before', and , meaning 'cat'. The specific name of ''P. bourbonnensis'' simply means "from the Bourbonnais". Description ''Proailurus lemanensis'' was a compact and small animal, just a little larger than the domestic cat, weighing about 20 lb (9 kg). It had a long tail, large eyes and sharp claws and teeth, with similar proportions to the modern viverrids. Its claws would have been retractable to some extent. Like the viverrids, ''Proailurus'' was at least partially arboreal. ''Proailurus major'' is estimated to have been significantly larger, about 23 kg. The p4 tooth is stronger and the m1 is less elongated than in ''P. lemanensis''. ''Proailurus bourbonnensis'' was a smaller species, estimated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Wildcat
The European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') is a small wildcat species native to continental Europe, Scotland, Turkey and the Caucasus. It inhabits forests from the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, Central and Eastern Europe to the Caucasus. Its fur is brownish to grey with stripes on the forehead and on the sides and has a bushy tail with a black tip. It reaches a head-to-body length of up to with a long tail, and weighs up to . In France and Italy, the European wildcat is predominantly nocturnal, but also active in the daytime when undisturbed by human activities. It preys foremost on small mammals such as lagomorphs and rodents, but also on ground-dwelling birds. Taxonomy ''Felis (catus) silvestris'' was the scientific name proposed in 1778 by Johann von Schreber when he described a wild cat based on texts from the early 18th century and before. In the 19th and 20th centuries, several wildcat type specimens were described and proposed as subspecies, including: * ''F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miopanthera
''Miopanthera'' is an extinct genus of '' Pseudaelurus''-grade felids. Taxonomy The genus ''Miopanthera'' was first proposed in 1938 by Kretzoi for the species ''Pseudaelurus lorteti''. ''P. lorteti'' had previously been described as such in 1899, upon the discovery of fossils in Europe. However, Kretzoi's proposal was largely ignored by later authors. A 2010 review of the Felidae proposed splitting the genus ''Pseudaelurus'' in three, and suggested assigning ''P. lorteti'' to the genus ''Styriofelis'' alongside ''P. turnauensis''. Another species, ''Felis pamiri'', was described in 1965 based on a snout fragment found in Turkey. The locality at which it was found was estimated to be from the late Miocene, about 9.9 Ma. After its original description, no further material was assigned to the species. In 2017, a review of the species ''Felis pamiri'' concluded that it was likely closely related to ''S. lorteti'', and reassigned both species to the genus ''Miopanthera''. The paper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Styriofelis
''Styriofelis'' is an extinct genus of Felidae known from the Miocene of Europe. Taxonomy In 1882, a species of ''Pseudaelurus'' from Europe was described as ''Pseudaelurus turnauensis''. Another species, ''Pseudaelurus lorteti'', was described in 1899. The species ''Pseudaelurus transitorius'' was described in 1892, but most authors considered it a synonym of ''P. turnauensis''. In 1929, Kretzoi proposed the genus ''Styriofelis'' for ''P. turnauensis'', but this proposal was largely ignored. Kretzoi also proposed the genus ''Miopanthera'' for ''P. lorteti'', but Beaumont, during his proposal of splitting ''Pseudaelurus'', ignored Kretzoi and placed the two species in his own genus ''Schizailurus''. Subsequently, ''Schizailurus'' has been considered a junior synonym of both ''Styriofelis'' and ''Miopanthera''. In 2010, a review of the family Felidae suggested that ''Pseudaelurus'' be split into three separate genera, including ''Styriofelis'' for ''P. turnauensis'' and ''P. lor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hyperailurictis
''Hyperailurictis'' is an extinct genus of felid from Miocene North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th .... The ''Hyperailurictis'' species are '' Pseudaelurus''- grade felids and thought to be the first felids in the Americas. Taxonomy and Evolution Taxonomic history In 1858, the paleontologist Joseph Leidy described a new species of cat, ''Felis intrepidus'', based on lower jaw fragments (a left ramus, described, and a right ramus, mentioned only and now lost) found somewhere in Nebraska near the Niobrara river. The fragments were later determined to have come from the lower Valentine Formation, making them late Barstovian in age. Leidy reassigned the specimens to ''Pseudaelurus'' as ''Pseudaelurus intrepidus'' in a 1869 paper. In 1873, an expedition colle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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