The Visayan leopard cat is a

Sunda leopard cat The Sunda leopard cat (''Prionailurus javanensis'') is a small wild cat species native to the Sundaland islands of Java, Bali, Borneo, Sumatra and the Philippines that is considered distinct from the leopard cat occurring in mainland South a ...

(''Prionailurus javanensis sumatranus'') population in the Philippine Islands of

Negros Negros is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . Negros is one of the many islands of the Visayas, in the central part of the country. The predominant inhabitants of the island region a ...

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...

and

Panay Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and has a total population of 4,542,926 as of 2020 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City o ...

. It has been listed as vulnerable on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

in 2008 under its former scientific name ''P. bengalensis rabori'' as its range is estimated to be less than , and the population was thought to be decreasing.

Taxonomy

''Prionailurus bengalensis rabori'' was proposed in 1997 by anthropologist Colin Groves on the basis of morphological analysis of a skin and skull. He considered it a

leopard cat The leopard cat (''Prionailurus bengalensis'') is a small wild cat native to continental South, Southeast, and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is widely distributed although threatened by hab ...

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

. Results of phylogeographic research show that Sunda leopard cats from Borneo, Sumatra and the Philippine islands are genetically very similar. The Sunda leopard cat probably reached the Philippine islands from Borneo after the eruption of Toba Volcano during the

late Pleistocene The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial Age (geology), age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as Upper Pleistocene from a Stratigraphy, stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division of ...

glaciation A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...

. It has therefore been subsumed to ''P. javanensis sumatranus'' in 2017.

Characteristics

The fur of the Visayan leopard cat is dark ochre to buffy fawn with large and dark spots. Its skull is a little narrower than of Sumatran leopard cat and Bornean leopard cat.

Distribution and habitat

The Visayan leopard cat is endemic to the Philippine islands of Panay and Negros where it inhabits remnant forest fragments. In Cebu, it has also been recorded in

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

farms. It is probably locally extinct or close to extinction on the islands of Cebu and Masbate. Panay and Negros islands have lost 90%–95 % of their natural habitat.

In captivity

Five Visayan leopard cats are housed at the Mariit Wildlife and Conservation Park at the West Visayas State University campus in

Lambunao, Iloilo Lambunao, officially the Municipality of Lambunao ( hil, Banwa sang Lambunao, krj, Banwa kang Lambunao, tgl, Bayan ng Lambunao), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populat ...

. Two of these were rescued from

Pontevedra, Capiz Pontevedra, officially the Municipality of Pontevedra ( Capiznon/ Hiligaynon: ''Banwa sang Pontevedra''; tl, Bayan ng Pontevedra), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Capiz, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populati ...

, and have been named Ponte and Vedra.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2632995 Prionailurus Mammals described in 1997 Mammals of the Philippines Endemic fauna of the Philippines Fauna of the Visayas Fauna of Panay Fauna of Negros Island Fauna of Cebu Subspecies