User:Jts1882/Cataloguing cats

The history of the taxonomy of cats covers the taxonomy of cats since Linnaeus laid down the basis of modern zoological taxonomy. At present this draft article is a collection of useful lists that can be used by editors in other articles, but in time I hope that it will evolve into proper article.

This page also serves as a reference section, with citations and links to web resources on cat species, including:

• Mammal Species of the World (web and online book)
• IUCN Red List (doi and id links)
• IUCN Cat Specialist Group (http://www.catsg.org)

Sources and notes

Main sources for history of taxonomy:

• Salles (1992)
• Werdelin (1996)
• Werdelin (2010)

From Werdelin (2010):

"Many attempts have been made to investigate the interrelationships of Felidae. These have followed two broad approaches.

• Some, like Matthew (1910), Kretzoi (1929a, b) and Beaumont (1978) have incorporated both fossil and extant felids in their analyses,
• while others, such as Pocock (1917a), Herrington (1986), and Salles (1992) have focused exclusively on the living members of the family.
• A new era in felid phylogenetics was ushered in with the introduction of molecular evidence (Collier and O’Brien 1985; O’Brien et al. 1985a; Johnson et al. 1996),
• while the first study to use a total evidence approach was that of Mattern and McLennan (2000)."

Suprafamiliar relationships

Linneaus

The 1735 classification of animals

Title page of the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, or with its full title Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis ("System of nature through the three kingdoms of nature, according to classes, orders, genera and species, with characters, differences, synonyms, places").

The Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) introduced his infuential system for classifying living organisms in his Systema Naturae, in which he outlined what is now known as Linnaean taxonomy. In the 1735 first edition of Systema Naturae he divided animals in to six classes: Quadrupedia, Aves, Amphibia, PIsces, Insecta, Vermes. The Quadrupedia were divided into five orders: Anthropomorpha, Ferae, Glires, Jumenta, and Pecora. Cats were contained within three of the fifteen genera in Ferae: Leo, Tigris and Felis.

Linnaeus revised this scheme in subsequent editions. In the tenth edition of Systema Naturae (1758) the Quadrupdia were renamed Mammalia and the number of mammalian orders was increase to eight: Primates, Bruta, Ferae, Bestiae, Glires, Pecora, Belluae and Cete. The genera in Ferae were reduced to four: Phoca (seals), Canis (dogs & hyenas), Felis (cats), Viverra. All the cats were now contained in the genus Felis.

Revisions

Gray: Family Felidae within Carnivora

Living cats

Cat taxonomy has undergone many revisions since Linnaeus laid down the foundations for zoological taxonomy in his Systema Naturae. Different authorities have favoured lumping and splitting approaches with the cats placed into a few genera or divided into as many as 19 (23?) genera or 27 subgenera.

Linnaeus

In his 1735 first edition of Systema Naturae the cats were placed in three genera [1]]

• Leo
  • Leo leo (lion)
• Tigris
  • Tigris tigris (tiger)
  • Tigris panthera (leopard)
• Felis
  • Felis felis (wildcat?)
  • Felis catus (domestic cat)
  • Felis lynx (Eurasian lynx)

Sistema Naturae (1758)

From 10th edition

The the 10th edition of the Systema Naturæ (1758) placed all his six recognised species in Felis:

Felis (cats)

• Felis leo – lion
• Felis tigris – tiger
• Felis pardus – leopard
• Felis onca – jaguar
• Felis pardalis – ocelot
• Felis catus – domesticated cat 
• Felis lynx – Eurasian lynx

Jardine (1834)

Jardine (1834) recognised five genera: Leo, Puma, Cynailurus, Lynchus and Felis. His classification is notable for recognising a group for the lynxes (although broader than the modern genus) and the relationship between the puma and jaguarundi. His Felis remained a collection of big, small and medium cats.

• Leo (the two species of lion)
• Puma (puma, jaguarundi, pampas cat (one colour phase))
• Cynailurus (cheetah)
• Lynchus (Eurasian and Canadian lynxes, caracal, African golden cat, Geoffroy's cat, jungle cat and black-footed cat)
• Felis (all other species known at time: tiger, leopard, jaguar, snow leopard, ocelot, margay, oncilla, leopard cat, clouded leopard, serval, pampas cat (other color phase), European, African and Asian wild cats)

Severtzov (1857-58)

The first real attempt to delineate felid relationships was made by Severtzov. His classification includes five genera and 27 subgenera. His Lynx is close to the modern one and his separation of the big cats anticipates the division between patherine and feline cats recognised today. His Felis contained 19 subgenera, which were mostly monotypic, but his Catolynx and Oncoides subgenera anticipate the modern Felis sensu stricto and Leopardus. Many of the names of his generic and subgenera names are used today, although not in exactly the same way.

Severtzov’s genera are as follows (based on Werdelin, 2010):

• Tigris, which includes two subgenera,
  • Leo (lion)
  • Tigris (tiger)
• Panthera, with the subgenera
  • Jaguarius (jaguar)
  • Panthera (leopard)
  • Uncia (snow leopard, clouded leopard)
  • Puma (puma)
• Cynailurus, with a single species
  • Cynailurus jubatus (the cheetah).
• Lynchus, with two subgenera:
  • Lynchus (Eurasian lynx, Canadian lynx, bobcat)
  • Urolynchus (caracal)
• Felis, with 19 subgenera:
  • Herpailurus (jaguarundi)
  • Oncoides (ocelot, margay, and oncilla)
  • Lynchailurus (pampas cat)
  • Dendrailurus (unidentifiable species; Pocock identifies it as the pampas cat]
  • Oncifelis (Geoffroy’s cat)
  • Noctifelis (kodkod)
  • Pardofilis (marbled cat)
  • Catopuma (Temminck’ s golden cat)
  • Chrysailurus (one variety of the African golden cat)
  • Profelis (another variety of African golden cat)
  • Leptailurus (serval)
  • Otocolobus (manul)
  • Prionailurus (leopard cat)
  • Zibethailurus (fishing cat)
  • Ictailurus (flat-headed cat)
  • Otailurus (a species from Timor that Werdelin (2010) couldn't identify; possibly domestic cat from Timor mentioned by Pocock?)
  • Felis (preoccupied by Linnaeus’ Felis for the domestic cat)
  • Catolynx (domestic cat (including the European wildcat), African wildcat, and jungle cat)

Gray (1867)

Gray's began his work on cat taxonomy in 1821 and finished it in 1867. Although he published his classification a few years later, Gray was apparently unaware of Severtzov's work, and the two classifications sometimes used conflicting names, which led to much subsequent confusion. Gray's Lynx is the modern one and his Viverrceps anticipates the modern Prionailurus. The pantherines are split between four genera and the other felines into ten others. He named the cat family Felidae in 1832 (?).[online]

Gray (1867) (14 genera)

• Leo (lion)
• Tigris (tiger)
• Leopardus* (leopard, jaguar, African golden cat, puma)
• Uncia (snow leopard)
• Neofelis (clouded leopard)
• Pardalina (unidentified species P. himalayensis; possibly an ocelot wrongly assigned)
• Catolynx (marbled cat; the genus is synonymous with Severtzov’s Pardofelis and a junior homonym of his Catolynx, which in turn is a junior synonym of Felis sensu stricto as it is based on same type species)
• Viverriceps (fishing cat, flat-headed cat, rusty-spotted cat, one variety of leopard cat)
• Pajeros (pampas cat)
• Felis (ocelot, margay, oncilla, geoffroy’s cat, jaguarundi, serval, Asiatic golden cat, manul, the European, African and Asian wildcats, and the domestic cat)
• Chaus (jungle cat)
• Lynchus (Eurasian, Canadian and Iberian lynxes, and the bobcat)
• Caracal (caracal)
• Gueparda (cheetah)

*Leopardus: "Gray originally included four species in this genus, griseus, pictus, ellioti, and horsfieldi, but subsequently assigned griseus and pictus to Pardalis, ellioti to Viverriceps, ignored horsfieldi, and applied Leopardus to pardus and onca" (Pocock, 1917).

Matschie (1895) and Trouessart (1904)

• Matschie (SB. Ges. Nat. Fr. Berlin, 1895, pp. 198-199) and
• Trouessart (Cat. Mamm.j Suppl. Pp. 265-2785 1904).

Pocock (1917) described two similar schemes, by Matchue and Trusessart, respectively, although he thought they had little merit.

According to Pocock (1917), Matschie grouped the species as follows :

• Genus Uncia concolor, tigris, leo.
• Genus Leopardus pardus (including uncia), onca.
• Genus Galeopardus viverrina, marmorata, serval, pardalis.
• Genus Felis microtis, scripta, shawiana, bengalensis, rubiginosa, ornata, nigripes, tigrina, macrura [wiedii], geoffroyi, guigna.
• Genus Catus catus, manul, caudata, planiceps, chaus, maniculata [ocreata], pajeros, colocolo, etc.
• Genus Lynx lynx, caracal, etc.
• Genus Neofelis nebulosa.
• Genus [Self-coloured Cats] temmincki, aurata, yaguarondi.

According to Pocock (1917), Trouessart followed Matschie in some respects, but used different names in several cases:

• Genus Felis.
  • Subgenus Uncia leo, tigris, concolor.
  • Subgenus Leopardus pardus, uncia, onca.
  • Subgenus Zibethailurus viverrina, marmorata, nebulosa, serval, pardalis (Matchie's Galeopardus plus the clouded leopard)
  • Subgenus Oncoides microtis, shawiana, scripta, bengalensis, rubiginosa, ornata, wiedii, tigrina, geoffroyi, guigna (Matchie's Felis, minus nigripes)
  • Subgenus Felis catus, manul, planiceps, libyca [ocreata], nigripes, pajeros, colocolo (Matchie's Catus"" plus nigripes, minus chaus and caudata).
  • Subgenus Catopuma temmincki, badia, aurata, yaguarondi.
• Genus Lynx
  • Subgenus Lynx
  • Subgenus Cervaria
  • Subgenus Caracal

Pocock

Pocock brought some order to cat taxonomy in his 1917 work, which also divided the Felidae into three subfamilies based on the structure of the hyoid (extent of ossification) and digits (presence of cutaneous lobe protecting retracted claw):

• Pantherinae (imperfectly ossified hyoid, cutaneous lobe protecting retracted claw),
• Felinae (ossified hyoid, cutaneous lobe protecting retracted claw),
• Acinonychinae (ossified hyoid, no cutaneous lobe).

Pococks genera were assigned as follows:

• Pantherinae (2 genera)
  • Panthera (lion, tiger, leopard, and jaguar)
  • Uncia (the snow leopard)
• Acinonychinae (single species)
  • Acinonyx jubatus (cheetah)
• Felinae (14 genera),
  • Felis, divided into "three three categories":
    • medium-sized cats from Europe, southwest Asia, and Africa (wildcats, "e.g. F. silvestris, ocreata, ornata, and caudata, which are grouped closely round the typical form of the genus, F. catus, and the other domesticated breed, F. torquata");
    • larger species ranging from Burma, through India, parts of central Asia to South Africa ("e.g. F. chaus (subspecies furax etc.) and F. shawiana ... These constitute the genus Chaus of Gray"); and
    • the very small South African species Felis nigripes" (the black-footed cat).
  • Lynx, again divided into three groups:
    • one for the Eurasian, Iberian and Canadian lynxes ("The typical lynxes, comprising L. lynx, pardellus, isabellinus, and canadensis, and probably other species or subspecies");
    • one for the bobcat ("The lynxes of temperate America, L. ruffus, fasciatus, etc."); and
    • one for the caracal (Lynx caracal)
  • Trichaelurus
    • Trichaelurus manul (the manul)
  • Puma
    • Puma concolor (puma)
  • Leptailurus
    • Leptailurus serval (serval)
  • Prionailurus
    • Prionailurus bengalensis (leopard cat)
    • Prionailurus rubiginosus (rusty-spotted cat)
    • "Other known forms that certainly, or probably, fall under Prionailurus have been named javensis, sumatranus, herschelii, chinensis, microtis, and scripta."
  • Pardofelis
    • Pardofelis marmorata (marbled cat)
    • Pardofelis badia (Bornean bay cat)
  • Profelis (the first association of the two golden cat species)
    • Profelis aurata (African golden cat)
    • Profelis temmincki (Asiatic golden cat)
  • Zibethailurus
    • Zibethailurus viverrina (fishing cat; Pocock speculates that this could have been included in Prionailurus)
  • Ictailurus
    • Ictailurus planiceps (flat-headed cat)
  • Neofelis
    • Neofelis nebulosa (clouded leopard)
  • Leopardus ("An uncertain number of species or subspecies referable to two groups typified respectively by pardalis and wiedii (macrura)")
    • Leopardus pardalis (ocelot)
    • Leopardus wiedii (margay)
  • Dendrailurus (pampas cat, which Pocock identifies with the type species of Severtzov's Dendrailurus)
    • "two species, if distinct, namely colocolo and pajeros"
  • Herpailurus (the other small South American cats: the jaguarundi, kodkod, Geoffroy’s cat, and oncilla)
    • Herpailurus yaguarondi (jaguarundi or eyra)
    • Herpailurus geoffroyi (Geoffroy’s cat)
    • Herpailurus guigna (kodkod)
    • Herpailurus pardinoides
    • Herpailurus tigrina (oncilla)

See also:

Weigel (1956)

Weigel (1956) after Salles (1992)

Felidae

Acinonyx jubatus Felis Felis chaus Felis lybica Felis cafra Felis silvestris Felis nigripes Felis bieti Felis margarita Otocolobus manul Lynx Lynx lynx Lynx canadensis Lynx pardina Lynx rufus Caracal caracal Leptailurus serval Herpailurus yagouaroundi Puma concolor Neofelis nebulosa Panthera Panthera tigris Panthera onca Panthera leo Panthera pardus Uncia uncia Profelis aurata Profelis temmincki Badiofelis badia Pardofelis marmorata Prionailurus planiceps Prionailurus viverrina Prionailurus bengalensis Prionailurus rubiginosa Oreailurus jacobita Lynchailurus colocolo Oncifelis Oncifelis geoffroyi Oncifelis guigna Oncifelis tigrina Leopardus Leopardus pardalis Leopardus wiedii

Hemmer (1978)

Hemmer (1978) after Salles (1992)

Felidae

Acinonyx jubatus Puma concolor Herpailurus yajouarundi Catopuma Catopuma temminicki Catopuma tristis Catopuma badia Profelis aurata' Pardofelis marmorata Neofelis nebulosa Uncia uncia Panthera tigris Panthera onca Panthera pardus Panthera leo Leopardus Leopardus pardalis (ocelot) Leopardus wierdii (margay) Oncifelis Oncifelis tigrina (oncilla) Oncifelis geoffroyi (Geoffroy’s cat) Oncifelis guigna (kodkod) Lyncailurus colocolo Oreailurus jacobita Prionailurus Prionailurus iriomotenis Prionailurus planicepes Prionailurus bengalensis Prionailurus viverrina Prionailurus rubiginosa Felis, Lynxes Caracal caracal Leptailurus serval Lynx Lynx rufus Lynx parsina Lynx canadensis Lynx lynx Otocolobus manul Felis bieti Felis chaus Felis margarita Felis nigripes Felis silvestris Felis lybica Felis ornata and allies

Herrington (1986)

Herrington (1986) after Salles (1992)

Felidae

Felis and Felis Felis nigripes Felis cafra Felis margarita Felis lybica Felis silvestris Felis bieti Felis chaus Caracal caracal Prionailurus rubiginosa Acinonyx jubatus Otocolobu manul Puma concolor Herpailurus yagouarundi Prionailurus planiceps Prionailurus viverrina Prionailurus bengalenis Mayailurus iriomotensis other small cats Profelis and Profelis Profelis aurata Profelis teminicki Profelis badia Leopardus Leopardus pardalis Leopardus wiedii Leopardus tigrina Leopardus guigna Leopardus geofroyii Leopardus jacobita Leopardus colocolo Leopardus Lynxes and Leptailurus serval Lynx Lynx pardina Lynx rufus Lynx canadensis Lynx lynx pantherines Neofelis nebulosa Pardofelis marmorata Uncia uncia Panthera Panthera tigris Panthera onca Panthera pardus Panthera leo (big cats) pantherines

Molecular revolution

Collier & O'Brien (1985)

O'Brien (1996)

Johnson et al (2006)

O'Brien & Johnson (2007)

From Werdelin (2010):

"Recently, two of us (Warren E. Johnson and Stephen J. O’Brien) published a phylogeny of Felidae based on a data set of 22,789 base pairs of DNA, including autosomal, Y-linked, X-linked, and mitochondrial gene segments (Johnson et al. 2006b)."

Species Lists

There is no definitive number for the number of cat species, with disagreements on which cats should be counted as species rather than subspecies. The following summarizes consensus and the main differences of opinion.

• 35 cats are traditionally recognised as species, although no list I have seen has only 35.
• The 36th species is usually the Chinese desert cat or the domestic cat, which both are otherwise classified as a subspecies of wildcat.
• The wildcat gets categorised as a single species or several, with the domestic cat being an addition complication
  • One species including the wildcats, domestic cat and Chinese desert cat
  • Two species with domestic cat as a separate species
  • Two species with Chinese desert cat as a separate species
  • Three species:
    • European wildcat
    • Felis lybica: African wildcat including South African and Asiatic wildcats and the domestic cat
    • Chinese desert cat
  • Three species:
    • European wildcat
    • Domestic cat
    • Chinese desert cat
  • Four species (the latest assessment by the IUCN Specialist Cat Group):
    • European wildcat
    • Felis lybica: African wildcat including South African and Asiatic wildcats
    • Domestic cat
    • Chinese desert cat
• The Pampas cat was described as three species by Garcia-Perez (1994) ...
• The Iriomote cat was described a disitinct species, although is now generally recognised as a subspecies of leopard cat (Leopardus bengalensis).
• The oncilla was described as at least two species ...
  • • A third or possibly fourth species may be justified...

Recent molecular studies propose some splits;

• • Clouded leopards into two species ... (universally accepted)
    • Neofelis nebulosa
    • Neofelis diardi (Sunda clouded leopard)
  • Leopard cats into two species. (recent support)
    • Prionailurus bengalensis (leopard cat including Irimore leopard cat)
    • Prionailurus javanensis (Sunda leopard cat)
  • Tiger into three species ... (generally ignored)

Wozencraft (1993)/ Mammal species of the world (2nd ed.)

Wozencraft, W.C. 1993. Order Carnivora. Pp. 286-346 in D.E. Wilson and D.M. Reeder, eds. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference (Second edition). Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. and London.

The Wild Cats: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan (eds K. Nowell & P. Jackson). IUCN, Gland, Swizterland, 1996, 383pp.

• Family Felidae G. Fischer, 1817
  • Subfamily Acinonychinae Pocock, 1917
    • Acinonyx Brookes, 1828
      • Acinonyx jubatus Schreber, 1776 [Cheetah]
  • Subfamily Felinae Fischer, 1817
    • Caracal
      • Caracal caracal (Schreber, 1776) [Caracal]
    • Catopuma Severtzov, 1858
      • Catopuma badia (Gray, 1874) [Bornean bay cat]
      • Catopuma temmincki* (Vigors and Horsfield, 1827) [Asiatic golden cat]
    • Felis
      • Felis bieti Milne-Edwards, 1892 [Chinese mountain (desert) cat]
      • Felis chaus Schreber, 1777 [Jungle cat]
      • Felis margarita Loche, 1858 [Sand cat]
      • Felis nigripes Burchell, 1824 [Black-footed cat]
      • Felis silvestris Schreber, 1775 [Wildcat of Africa and Eurasia]
    • Herpailurus
      • Herpailurus yaguarondi Lacepede, 1809 [Jaguarundi]
    • Leopardus Gray, 1842
      • Leopardus pardalis (Linnaeus, 1758) [Ocelot]
      • Leopardus tigrinus (Schreber, 1775) [Oncilla, Little tiger cat]
      • Leopardus wiedi* (Schinz, 1821) [Margay]
    • Leptailurus Severtzov, 1858
      • Leptailurus serval (Schreber, 1776) [Serval]
    • Lynx Kerr, 1792
      • Lynx canadensis Kerr, 1792 [Canada lynx]
      • Lynx lynx (Linnaeus, 1758) [Eurasian lynx]
      • Lynx pardinus (Temminck, 1824) [Iberian lynx]
      • Lynx rufus (Schreber, 1776) [Bobcat]
    • Oncifelis Severtzov, 1858
      • Oncifelis colocolo (Molina, 1782) [Pampas cat]
      • Oncifelis geoffroyi (d'Orbigny and Gervais, 1844) [Geoffroy’s cat]
      • Oncifelis guigna (Molina, 1782) [Kodkod]
    • Oreailurus Cabrera, 1940
      • Oreailurus jacobitus* (Cornalia, 1865) [Andean mountain cat]
    • Otocolobus Brandt, 1842
      • Otocolobus manul (Pallas, 1776) [Pallas’s cat]
    • Prionaiiurus Severtzov, 1858
      • Prionaiiurus bengalensis (Kerr, 1792) [Leopard cat]
      • Prionaiiurus planiceps (Vigors and Worsfield, 1827) [Flat-headed cat]
      • Prionaiiurus rubiginosus (I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1831) [Rusty-spotted cat]
      • Prionaiiurus viverrinus (Bennett, 1833) [Fishing cat]
    • Profelis Severtzov 1858.
      • Profelis aurata (Temminck, 1827) [African golden cat]
    • Puma Jardine, 1834.
      • Puma concolor (Linnaeus 1771) [Puma, Cougar, or Mountain lion]
  • Subfamily Pantherinae Pocock 1917
    • Neofelis Gray, 1867
      • Neofelis nebulosa (Griffith, 1821) [Clouded leopard]
    • Panthera Oken, 1816.
      • Panthera leo (Linnaeus, 1758) [Lion]
      • Panthera onca (Linnaeus, 1758) [Jaguar]
      • Panthera pardus (Linnaeus, 1758) [Leopard]
      • Panthera tigris (Linnaeus, 1758) [Tiger]
    • Pardofelis Severtzov, 1858
      • Pardofelis marmorata Martin, 1837 [Marbled cat]
    • Uncia Gray 1854
      • Uncia uncia (Schreber, 1758) [Snow leopard]

• jacobita, wiedii, and temminckii in Wozencraft (1993) amended to jacobitus, wiedi, and temmincki in accordance with the 1985 International Code of Zoological Nomenclature Article 31a mandating that patronymic species names follow the rules of Latin grammar.

Note: Brackets round the name of the authority indicate that the genus has been changed since first publication by that authority.

Wozencraft (2005) in Mammal species of the world (3rd ed.)

Wozencraft (2005) in Wilson & Reeder's Mammal species of the world (3rd ed.):

• Family Felidae
  • Subfamily Pantherinae (6 species)
    • Neofelis
      • Neofelis nebulosa (clouded leopard)
    • Panthera
      • Panthera leo (lion)
      • Panthera onca (jaguar)
      • Panthera pardus (leopard)
      • Panthera tigris (tiger)
    • Uncia
      • Uncia uncia (snow leopard)
  • Subfamily Felinae (34 species)
    • Catopuma
      • Catopuma badia (Bornea bay cat)
      • Catopuma temminckii (Asiatic golden cat)
    • Pardofelis
      • Pardofelis marmorata (marbled cat)
    • Caracal
      • Caracal caracal (caracal)
    • Leptailurus
      • Leptailurus serval (serval)
    • Profelis
      • Profelis aurata (African golden cat)
    • Leopardus
      • Leopardus braccatus (Pantanal Cat)
      • Leopardus colocolo (colocolo)
      • Leopardus geoffroyi (Geoffroy's cat)
      • Leopardus guigna (guigna or kodkod)
      • Leopardus jacobitus (Andean mountain cat)
      • Leopardus pajeros (Pampas cat)
      • Leopardus pardalis (ocelot)
      • Leopardus tigrinus (oncilla)
      • Leopardus wiedii (margay)
    • Lynx
      • Lynx canadensis (Canadian lynx)
      • Lynx lynx (Eurasian lynx)
      • Lynx pardinus (Iberian lynx)
      • Lynx rufus (bobcat)
    • Acinonyx
      • Acinonyx jubatus (cheetah)
    • Puma
      • Puma concolor (puma, cougar, or mountain lion)
      • Puma yagouaroundi (jaguarundi)
    • Prionailurus
      • Prionailurus bengalensis (leopard cat)
      • Prionailurus iriomotensis (Iriomote cat) [subspecies of P. bengalensis]
      • Prionailurus planiceps (flat-headed cat)
      • Prionailurus rubiginosus (rusty-spotted cat)
      • Prionailurus viverrinus (fishing cat)
    • Felis
      • Felis bieti (Chinese mountain cat)
      • Felis catus (domestic cat)
      • Felis chaus (jungle cat)
      • Felis manul (Pallas' cat) [Otocolobus manul]
      • Felis margarita (sand cat)
      • Felis nigripes (black-footed cat)
      • Felis silvestris (wildcat)

References

IUCN Red List

38 species specified by the IUCN red list. The same 38 species are used in Luke Hunters Wild Cats of the World (2015).

• Panthera lineage
  • Panthera leo (Lion)
  • Panthera onca (Jaguar)
  • Panthera pardus (Leopard)
  • Panthera tigris (Tiger)
  • Panthera uncia (Snow Leopard)
  • Neofelis diardi (Sunda Clouded Leopard)
  • Neofelis nebulosa (Clouded Leopard)

• Bay cat lineage
  • Catopuma badia (Borneo Bay Cat)
  • Catopuma temminckii (Asiatic Golden Cat)
  • Pardofelis marmorata (Marbled Cat)

• Caracal lineage
  • Caracal aurata (African Golden Cat)
  • Caracal caracal (Caracal)
  • Leptailurus serval (Serval)

• Ocelot lineage
  • Leopardus colocolo (Pampas Cat)
  • Leopardus geoffroyi (Geoffroy's Cat)
  • Leopardus guigna (Guiña)
  • Leopardus guttulus (Southern Tiger Cat)
  • Leopardus jacobita (Andean Cat)
  • Leopardus pardalis (Ocelot)
  • Leopardus tigrinus (Northern Tiger Cat)
  • Leopardus wiedii (Margay)

• Lynx lineage
  • Lynx canadensis (Canada Lynx)
  • Lynx lynx (Eurasian Lynx)
  • Lynx pardinus (Iberian Lynx)
  • Lynx rufus (Bobcat)

• Puma lineage
  • Puma concolor (Puma)
  • Herpailurus yagouaroundi (Jaguarundi)
  • Acinonyx jubatus (Cheetah)

• Leopard cat lineage
  • Prionailurus bengalensis (Leopard Cat)
    • Prionailurus bengalensis iriomotensis (Iriomote cat)
  • Prionailurus planiceps (Flat-headed Cat)
  • Prionailurus rubiginosus (Rusty-spotted Cat)
  • Prionailurus viverrinus (Fishing Cat)
  • Otocolobus manul (Pallas's Cat)

• Domestic cat lineage
  • Felis bieti (Chinese Mountain Cat)
  • Felis chaus (Jungle Cat)
  • Felis margarita (Sand Cat)
  • Felis nigripes (Black-footed Cat)
  • Felis silvestris (Wild Cat)

References

IUCN Cat Specialist Group

Links to the 'IUCN Cat Specialist Group species assessment pages for the 38 felid species specified by the IUCN red list. The pages contain a general description of the cat species and its subspecies, an account of its habitat, ecology and behaviour, and an assessment of its current distribution, status as a threaten species and conservation efforts.

• Panthera lineage
  • Panthera leo (Lion)
  • Panthera onca (Jaguar)
  • Panthera pardus (Leopard)
    • subspecies:fusca, tulliana, nimr, melas, kotiya, orientalis, delacouri, pardus
  • Panthera tigris (Tiger)
    • subspecies: tigris, corbetti, amoyensis, altaica, sumatrae, virgata, sondaica, balica, jacksoni
  • Panthera uncia (Snow Leopard)
  • Neofelis diardi (Sunda Clouded Leopard)
  • Neofelis nebulosa (Clouded Leopard)

• Bay cat lineage
  • Catopuma badia (Borneo Bay Cat)
  • Catopuma temminckii (Asiatic Golden Cat)
  • Pardofelis marmorata (Marbled Cat)

• Caracal lineage
  • Caracal aurata (African Golden Cat)
  • Caracal caracal (Caracal)
  • Leptailurus serval (Serval)

• Ocelot lineage
  • Leopardus colocolo (Pampas Cat)
  • Leopardus geoffroyi (Geoffroy's Cat)
  • Leopardus guigna (Guiña)
  • Leopardus guttulus (Southern Tiger Cat)
  • Leopardus jacobita (Andean Cat)
  • Leopardus pardalis (Ocelot)
  • Leopardus tigrinus (Northern Tiger Cat)
  • Leopardus wiedii (Margay)

• Lynx lineage
  • Lynx canadensis (Canada Lynx)
  • Lynx lynx (Eurasian Lynx)
  • Lynx pardinus (Iberian Lynx)
  • Lynx rufus (Bobcat)

• Puma lineage
  • Puma concolor (Puma)
  • Herpailurus yagouaroundi (Jaguarundi)
  • Acinonyx jubatus (Cheetah)

• Leopard cat lineage
  • Prionailurus bengalensis (Leopard Cat)
  • Prionailurus planiceps (Flat-headed Cat)
  • Prionailurus rubiginosus (Rusty-spotted Cat)
  • Prionailurus viverrinus (Fishing Cat)
  • Otocolobus manul (Pallas's Cat)

• Domestic cat lineage
  • Felis bieti (Chinese Mountain Cat)
  • Felis chaus (Jungle Cat)
  • Felis margarita (Sand Cat)
  • Felis nigripes (Black-footed Cat)
  • Felis silvestris (European wildcat)
  • Felis lybica (African and Asiatic wildcats)
  • Felis catus (domestic cat)

References

How many living cats are there?

Wildcat

One species or five?

• Felis silvestris (wildcat): all wildcats as one species, with the following subspecies: F. s. silvestric (European wildcat), F. s. lybica (African wildcat), F. s. cafra (Cape wildcat), F. s. ornata (Asiatic wildcat), F. s. bieti (Chinese mountain cat), and F. s. catus (domestic cat).
• Felis bieti (Chinese mountain cat): generally considered a separate species, but sometimes included as subspecies of Felis silvestris.
• Felis lybica (African wildcat), including F. s. cafra (Cape wildcat), F. s. ornata (Asiatic wildcat), but generally now included as subspecies of Felis silvestris.
• Felis ornata (Asiatic wildcat), but generally now included as subspecies of Felis silvestris.
• Felis catus (domestic cat): often included as a separate species in the past, but most analyses include the cat in Felis silvestris lybica or Felis lybica, from which it originated.

Nowadays there is general consensus for two species: Felis silvestris (wildcat) and Felis bieti (Chinese mountain cat)

South American small spotted cats

Pampas cat

The colocolo (Leopardus colocolo) is a small spotted and striped cat native to the west Andean slope in central and northern Chile. Until recently, it included the more widespread Pampas cat (L. pajeros) and Pantanal cat (L. braccatus), and some maintain these as subspecies of the colocolo. Confusingly, when these are treated as subspecies of the colocolo, the "combined" species is sometimes referred to as the Pampas cat.

[The Pampas cat] has traditionally been included in the colocolo (L. colocolo), but was split primarily based on differences in pelage colour/pattern and cranial measurements. The split is not supported by genetic work, leading some authorities to maintain it as a subspecies of the colocolo. Confusingly, when the colocolo includes the Pampas cat and Pantanal cat as subspecies, the "combined" species is sometimes referred to as the Pampas cat.

The Pantanal cat (Leopardus braccatus) is a small cat native to tropical South America. It is named after the Pantanal wetlands in central South America, but mainly inhabits grassland, shrubland, savannas and deciduous forests. It has traditionally been treated as a subspecies of the larger colocolo, but was split primarily based on differences in pelage colour/pattern and cranial measurements. This split is not supported by genetic work.

It is considered a subspecies of L. colocolo by IUCN assessors. Others regard it as "likely [a] distinct species". The validity of the genetic work has been questioned.

Asian small spotted cats

Iriomote cat

From Masuda & (1995):

The Iriomote cat was discovered in 1960, and classified as a new species Mayailurus iriomotensis, based on peculiar cranial characters: the ventral border of paroccipital process separated from the auditory bulla; the oval disc on basisphenoid and basioccipital region; the postero-external corner of the third upper premolar evenly rounded without cingulum cusp [12]. In addition, this wildcat has a shorter tail, longer body, and shorter legs than the southern Asian leopard cat Felis (or Prionailurus) bengalensis Kerr, 1792 [16]. The Iriomote cat is brown and covered with dark spots, while the typical leopard cat is yellowish with many black spots [16]. Although subsequent taxonomists [7, 21, 26] disagreed to recognizing the new genus Mayailurus, they considered the Iriomote cat as a valid species Felis (or Prionailurus) iriomotensis. By contrast, Glass and Todd [5] reported that the Iriomote cat's key characters showed by Imaizumi [12] are polymorphic in the leopard cat, and Wozencraft [34] considered the Iriomote cat as a synonym of the leopard cat. To clarify the taxonomic problem, we previously examined molecular phylogeny of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences on the Iriomote cat and other feline species, and revealed that this cat is most closely related to the leopard cat in the family Felidae [24]. Suzuki et al. [33] reported no difference in restriction sites of nuclear ribosomal DNA between the Iriomote cat and the leopard cat. The close relationship between these two wildcats revealed by molecular analyses was in agreement with the similarity showed by karyological analysis [35].

[12] Imaizumi, Y. 1967. A new genus and species of cat from Iriomote, Ryukyu Islands. J Mamm Soc Japan 3:75–108. [24] Masuda, R., M. C. Yoshida, F. Shinyashiki, and G. Bando. 1994. Molecular phylogenetic status of the Iriomote cat Felis iriomotensis, inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequence analysis. Zool Sci 11:597–604. [33] Suzuki, H., T. Hosoda, S. Sakurai, K. Tsuchiya, I. Munechika, and V. P. Korablev. 1994. Phylogenetic relationship between the Iriomote cat and the leopard cat, Felis bengalensis, based on the ribosomal DNA. Jpn J Genet 69:397–406. [35] Wurster-Hill, D. H., T. Doi, M. Izawa, and Y. Ono. 1987. Banded chromosome study of the Iriomote cat. J Hered 78:105–107

Extinct cats and relatives

From Werdelin (2010):

"Though previously included in the Felidae (Matthew 1910; Piveteau 1961), the former, Nimravidae, is now known to be diphyletic.

• Its Paleogene (65.5–23.0 million years ago [Ma]; Gradstein et al. 2004) members form a basal clade within either Feliformia or Carnivora as a whole (Neff 1983; Hunt 1987; Morlo et al. 2004),
• while its Neogene (23.0 Ma—recent) members are placed in a separate family, Barbourofelidae, with affinities to Felidae (see below). "

Cats on wikipedia

• Uses material from User:Catn7#Mammals (need to flag in talk page)

Picture	Common Name	Binomial Name	Subspecies and other pages	Distribution	Map	Habitat	Home	Behavior	Diet	Breeding Season	Gestation /Incubation	Litter /Clutch	Weaning	Sexual Maturity	Lifespan	IUCN Status
	African Golden Cat	Profelis aurata	C. a. aurata C. a. celidogaster	central Africa		tropical rainforest, cloud forest, bamboo forests, high moorland habitats		solitary; normally crepuscular or nocturnal	mostly rodents; birds, small monkeys, small ungulates		around 75 days	1-2	6-8 weeks	males, 18 months; females, 11 months	up to 12 years in capitivity	near threatened
	Andean Mountain Cat	Leopardus jacobita	no subspecies	eastern South America		montane and mountain			mostly mountain viscachas	possibly July and August, but could also extend through to December		1-2				endangered
	Asian Golden Cat	Catopuma temminckii	C. t. temminckii C. t. moormensis	southeastern Asia, Sumatra, and Malaysia		dry deciduous, subtropical evergreen, tropical rainforests, grasslands		territorial and solitary	ungulates, birds, hares, rodents, reptiles		78-80 days	1-3		between 18 and 24 months	up to 20 years in captivity	near threatened
	Bay Cat	Catopuma badia	no subspecies	Borneo		dense tropical, swamp, and dipterocarp forest										endangered
	Black-footed Cat	Felis nigripes	no subspecies	southern Africa		open savanna, grassland, and Karoo semi-desert with shrub and tree cover	rests in dense cover and abandoned burrows	solitary and strictly nocturnal	rodents, small birds, bustards, cape hare		63 to 68 days	1-4; usually 2	2 months	after 8 to 12 months for females	10 years in captivity	vulnerable
	Bobcat	Lynx rufus	L. r. rufus L. r. fascatius	southern Canada, northern Mexico, widespread throughout the United States		deciduous and coniferous woodlands, swamps, desert lands, rugged mountain areas	typically 6 or 8 years; longest: 16 years in wild and 32 years in captivity									least concern
	Canada Lynx	Lynx canadensis	no subspecies	almost all of Alaska and Canada; northwestern United States		forest	up to 14 years in captivity									least concern
	Caracal	Caracal caracal	C. c. caracal C. c. nubicus C. c. schmitzi	north, central, and south Africa; Arabia, and southwestern Asia		semi-desert, savanna, scrubland, moist woodland, forests	up to 16 years in captivity									least concern
	Cheetah	Acinonyx jubatus	A. j. jubatus A. j. hecki A. j. soemmeringii A. j. venaticus	central Africa; widespread throughout southern Africa		grasslands, savannas, dense vegetated areas, mountainous terrain, semi-desert, prairie, thick brush	up to 12 years in wild; up to 20 years in captivity									vulnerable
	Chinese Mountain Cat	Felis bieti	no subspecies	north China; limited to the Tibetan Plateau's eastern edge		grassland, alpine meadow, alpine scrubland, coniferous forest										vulnerable
	Clouded Leopard	Neofelis nebulosa	no subspecies	south Asia		dry tropical forest, mixed-evergreen forest	average 11 years in captivity									vulnerable
	Cougar	Puma concolor	P. c. concolor P. c. couguar	widespread throughout South America, and North America of mostly western states		virtually every habitat type	in the wild, probably averages 8 to 10 years; up to 20 years in captivity									least concern
	Eurasian Lynx	Lynx lynx	L. l. lynx L. l. balcanicus L. l. carpathicus L. l. dinniki L. l. isabellinus L. l. wrangeli	almost all of Russia (mostly Siberia), central Asia, small portion in Europe		forest	up to 21 years in captivity									least concern
	Fishing Cat	Prionailurus viverrinus	P. v. viverrinus P. v. rhizophoreus	south Asia, Java, Vietnam, and Peninsular Malaysia		wetlands, swampy and marshy areas	up to 10 years in captivity									endangered
	Flat-headed Cat	Prionailurus planiceps	no subspecies	southern Asia and Sumatra		lowland tropical rainforests; near freshwater; primary and secondary forest	up to 14 years in captivity									endangered
	Geoffroy's Cat	Leopardus geoffroyi	no susbpecies	widespread throughout southern South America		woodland, scrubland, grassland, marshy areas	up to 14 years in captivity									near threatened
	Iberian Lynx	Lynx pardinus	no subspecies	now restricted to small parts of southern Spain; (2003 map on table)		now restricted to mountainous areas; few in lowland forest or dense maquis shrubland	maximum 13 years in the wild									critically endangered
	Jaguar	Panthera onca	no extant subspecies European jaguar	widespread throughout South America, Mexico, and Central America		rain forest; seasonally flooded wetlands; dry grassland; dense forest	in the wild, estimated 12-15 years; in captivity, up to 23 years									near threatened
	Jaguarundi	Puma yagouaroundi	no subspecies	widspread throughout South America and Central America; and southern Mexico and Texas		lowland brush areas; dry thorn forest; wet grassland; occasionally dense tropical areas	up to 10 years in captivity									least concern
	Jungle Cat	Felis chaus	F. c. chaus F. c. affinis F. c. fulvidina	western and southern Asia, Sri Lanka, and Egypt		savannas, tropical dry forests, reedbeds	median 10-12 years in captivity; up to 20 years in wild									least concern
	Kodkod	Leopardus guigna	L. g. guigna L. g. tigrillo	eastern Chile and Argentina		temperate rainforest, moist and coniferous forests, sclerophyllous scrub	may live up to 11 years									vulnerable
	Leopard	Panthera pardus	subspecies P. p. pardus (see Barbary leopard, Zanzibar leopard) P. p. nimr (see Anatolian leopard, Sinai leopard) P. p. saxicolor (see Baluchistan leopard) P. p. fusca (also Kashmir leopard, Nepal leopard) P. p. kotiya P. p. delacouri P. p. orientalis P. p. japonensis P. p. melas	widspread throughout southern Africa and southern Asia, and a little bit of Indonesia		temperate and riverene forests, woodlands, grasslands, savanna, and rainforests	up to 21 years in captivity									near threatened
	Leopard Cat	Prionailurus bengalensis	P. b. bengalensis (includes Iriomote cat and Visayan leopard cat) P. b. euptilurus	widespread through southern and southeast Asia		tropical evergreen rainforests and subtropical deciduous and coniferous forests in the Himalayas	up to 13 years in captivity									least concern
	Sunda Leopard Cat	Prionailurus javanensis	P. j. javanensis P. j. borneoensis P. j. heaneyi P. j. rabori P. j. sumatranus	widespread in Indonesia		tropical evergreen rainforests and subtropical deciduous and coniferous forests in the Himalayas	up to 13 years in captivity									n/a
	Lion	Panthera leo	P. l. abyssinica P. l. azandica P. l. bleyenberghi P. l. kamptzi P. l. krugeri P. l. nubica P. l. persica P. l. senegalensis P. l. somaliensis †P. l. leo †P. l. atrox †P. l. europaea †P. l. melanochaita †P. l. sinhaleyus †P. l. spelaea †P. l. vereshchagini	widespread throughout Africa, southern Asia		savanna grassland, savanna and scrub forest	10-14 in wild; 20+ in captivity									vulnerable
	Marbled Cat	Pardofelis marmorata	P. m. marmorata P. m. longicaudata	south Asia, Sumatra, and Borneo		deciduous-evergreen tropical forest	up to 12 years in captivity									vulnerable
	Margay	Leopardus wiedii	L. w. wiedii L. w. glauculus L. w. vigens	all through Central America, southern and coasts of Mexico, and widespread throughout north and central South America		tropical evergreen and and tropical dry forests and high cloud forest	up to 24 years in captivity									near threatened
	Ocelot	Leopardus pardalis	L. p. pardalis L. p. mitis	northern and central South America, Mexico, and Central America		forests, mangrove swamps, and savanna	up to 20 years in captivity									least concern
	Oncilla (northern tiger cat, tigrillo)	Leopardus tigrinus	L. t. tigrinus L. t. oncilla	from Central America to central Brazil		montane forest	11-17 years in wild									vulnerable
	Southern tiger cat	Leopardus tigrinus	no susbpecies	southern Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina		montane forest	11-17 years in wild									vulnerable
	Pallas's Cat	Otocolobus manul	O. m. manul O. m. nigripectus	widespread throughout central Asia		steppe	up to 11 years in captivity									near threatened
	Pampas Cat (as single species)	Leopardus colocola	L. c. colocola L. c. braccatus L. c. munoai L. c. budini L. c. garleppi L. c. pajeros L. c. wolffsohni	eastern, central, and southern South America		grassland, mesophytic and dry forest, scrubland, paramo										near threatened
	Pampas Cat (restricted species)	Leopardus pajeros (if species)	L. p. pajeros L. p. budini L. p. garleppi	eastern, central, and southern South America		grassland, mesophytic and dry forest, scrubland, paramo										near threatened
	Pantanal Cat	Leopardus braccatus (if species)	L. b. braccatus L. b. munoai	central South America		open grassland, dense forest, wetland										not evalutated
	Colocolo	Leopardus colocolo (if species)	L. c. colocola L. c. wolffsohni	easten, central, and southern South America		subtropical and xerophytic forest, shrubland, and paramo	between 9 and 15 years									not recognized
	Rusty-spotted Cat	Prionailurus rubiginosus	P. r. rubiginosus P. r. koladivius P. r. phillipsi	widespread throughout India and Sri Lanka		mainly mosit and dry deciduous forests; scrub and grassland	12 years in captivity									vulnerable
	Sand Cat	Felis margarita	F. m. margarita F. m. thinobia	north Africa; southwest and central Asia		desert	up to 13 years in captivity									near threatened
	Serval	Leptailurus serval	L. s. serval L. s. constantina L. s. lipostictus	across central Africa and middle of south Africa		mainly savanna; mountainous areas for melanistics	10 years in wild; up to 20 years in captivity									least concern
	Snow Leopard	Uncia uncia	no subspecies	central Asia		mountains	normally 15-18 years; in captivity, up to 21 years									endangered
	Sunda Clouded Leopard	Neofelis diardi	N. d. diardi N. d. borneensis	Borneo and Sumatra		lowland rainforest and montane										vulnerable
	Tiger	Panthera tigris	P. t. altaica P. t. amoyensis P. t. corbetti P. t. jacksoni P. t. sumatrae P. t. tigris †P. t. acutidens †P. t. balica †P. t. sondaica †P. t. soloensis †P. t. trinilensis †P. t. virgata	widespread throughout Asia, Indonesia		grassland, savanna, several forests	20-26 years									endangered
	Wildcat	Felis silvestris (as single species)	European wildcat African wildcat Asiatic wildcat Domestic cat	widespread throughout Africa, Europe, and central and eastern Asia			maximum is 21 years, though usually up to 13-14 years									least concern
	European Wildcat	Felis silvestris	F. s. silvestris F. s. caucasica	widespread throughout western, southern central and easternEurope up to the Caucasus Mountains			maximum is 21 years, though usually up to 13-14 years									least concern
	African Wildcat	Felis lybica	F. l. lybica F. l. cafra F. l. ornata	widespread throughout Africa and central and eastern Asia			maximum is 21 years, though usually up to 13-14 years									least concern
	Domestic cat	Felis catus	List_of_cat_breeds	widespread throughout Africa, Europe, and central and eastern Asia			maximum is 21 years, though usually up to 13-14 years									least concern