''Felis'' is a
genus of small and medium-sized cat
species native to most of
Africa and south of 60°
latitude in
Europe and
Asia to
Indochina. The genus includes the
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 o ...
. The smallest ''Felis'' species is the
black-footed cat with a head and body length from . The largest is the
jungle cat with a head and body length from .
Genetic studies indicate that the
Felinae genera ''Felis'', ''
Otocolobus
The Pallas's cat (''Otocolobus manul'', also known as the manul, is a small wild cat with long and dense light grey fur. Its rounded ears are set low on the sides of the head. Its head-and-body length ranges from with a long bushy tail. It is ...
'' and ''
Prionailurus'' diverged from a Eurasian progenitor of the
Felidae
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 ...
about 6.2 million years ago, and that ''Felis'' species split off 3.04 to 0.99 million years ago.
Etymology
The generic name ''Felis'' is derived from
Classical Latin ''fēlis'' meaning "cat, ferret".
Taxonomy
Carl Linnaeus considered ''Felis'' to comprise all cat species known until 1758.
Later taxonomists split the
cat family
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 do ...
into different genera. In 1917, the British zoologist
Reginald Innes Pocock
Reginald Innes Pocock F.R.S. (4 March 1863 – 9 August 1947) was a British zoologist.
Pocock was born in Clifton, Bristol, the fourth son of Rev. Nicholas Pocock and Edith Prichard. He began showing interest in natural history at St. Edward ...
revised the genus ''Felis'' as comprising only the ones listed in the following table.
[ Estimated ]genetic divergence Genetic divergence is the process in which two or more populations of an ancestral species accumulate independent genetic changes (mutations) through time, often leading to reproductive isolation and continued mutation even after the populations hav ...
times of the listed species are indicated in million years ago (Mya), based on analysis of autosomal, xDNA
xDNA (also known as expanded DNA or benzo-homologated DNA) is a size-expanded nucleotide system synthesized from the fusion of a benzene ring and one of the four natural bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine. This size expansion produ ...
, yDNA and mtDNA gene segments.[
Pocock accepted the Pallas's cat as the only member of the genus ''Otocolobus''.][ Other scientists consider it also a ''Felis'' species.]
Several scientists consider the Chinese mountain cat a subspecies of ''F. silvestris''.
Phylogeny
The phylogenetic relationships of living ''Felis'' species are shown in the following cladogram:
Fossil ''Felis'' species
Fossil ''Felis'' species include:
* '' Felis lunensis'' ( Martelli, 1906)
Characteristics
''Felis'' species have high and wide skulls, short jaws and narrow ears with short tufts, but without any white spots on the back of the ears. Their pupils contract to a vertical slit.
A black cat from Transcaucasia described in 1904 as ''F. daemon'' by Satunin turned out to be a feral cat, probably a hybrid
Hybrid may refer to:
Science
* Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding
** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species
** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...
of wildcat and domestic cat.
The Kellas cat is a hybrid between domestic cat and European wildcat occurring in Scotland.
The Corsican wildcat
The Corsican wildcat is an isolated feral cat (''Felis catus'') population that used to be considered a subspecies of the African wildcat (''Felis lybica''), but is now thought to have been introduced to Corsica around the beginning of the firs ...
is considered to have been introduced to Corsica before the beginning of the 1st millennium. A genetic study of a dozen individuals showed that they are closely related to the African wildcat originating in the Middle East.
References
External links
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q228283
Mammal genera
Messinian first appearances
Extant Miocene first appearances
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
Felines