Felidae
Felines[1]
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Felinae |
The Felidae or cat family (also called felines) is a part of the order Carnivora within the mammals. It contains about 41 species including large animals such as the lion and the tiger, as well as smaller ones such as the bobcat and the domestic cat.
Characteristics
Like most other members of the Carnivora (carnivores), cats mainly get food by killing and eating other animals. They are more strictly carnivorous than most other carnivore families. The teeth of cats are well suited to their diet, with long canines for gripping prey and blade-like molars for cutting flesh.
All cats walk on four feet, in a digitigrade manner — that is on their toes. Their hind legs are longer and stronger than their fore legs which gives them strength for sprinting and leaping, but not stamina for long distance running. Cats have claws on their to feet which are used for gripping prey, for fighting, and for climbing. In all cats except the cheetah () the claws can be retracted into the toes which helps keep them sharp.
Most cats have a long fur-covered tail which is used for balance in running and leaping, and sometimes for warmth. The bodies of all cats, except some breeds of domestic cat, are covered with thick fur. In most species this is spotted or striped.
Female cats most often bear young once a year. With a few exceptions, most notably lions, cats live most of their lives alone. Males and females come together to mate and females take care of their young for about a year, until they are mature and experienced enough to live on their own.
Role in nature
Cats are found in most land environments on all continents except Antarctica and Australia (except for feral domestic cats). Some species of cats are native to tropical rain forests, grasslands, deserts, temperate forests, and high mountains.
Cats, like other predators, play an important role in keeping the populations of prey species under control so that excessive damage to plants is avoided and the balance of nature is preserved.
Felines and humans
Fossil felines
The oldest known true feline (Proailurus) lived in the Oligocene and Miocene eras. During the Miocene it gave way to Pseudaelurus. Pseudaelurus is believed to be the latest common ancestor of the two extant subfamilies and the extinct subfamily, Machairodontinae. This group, better known as the sabertooth cats, became extinct in the Late Pleistocene era. It includes the genera Smilodon, Machairodus, Dinofelis and Homotherium.
Classification
- FAMILY FELIDAE
- Subfamily Felinae
- Genus Felis
- Chinese Mountain Cat (Felis bieti)
- Domestic Cat (Felis catus)
- Jungle Cat (Felis chaus)
- Pallas's Cat (Felis manul)
- Sand Cat (Felis margarita)
- Black-footed Cat (Felis nigripes)
- Wildcat (Felis sylvestris)
- Genus Prionailurus
- Leopard Cat (Prionailurus bengalensis)
- Iriomote Cat (Prionailurus iriomotensis)
- Flat-headed Cat (Prionailurus planiceps)
- Rusty-spotted Cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus)
- Fishing Cat (Prionailurus viverrinus)
- Genus Puma
- Cougar (Puma concolor)
- Jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi)
- Genus Acinonyx
- Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)
- Genus Lynx
- Canadian Lynx (Lynx canadensis)
- Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx)
- Iberian Lynx (Lynx pardinus)
- Bobcat (Lynx rufus)
- Genus Leopardus
- Genus Leptailurus
- Serval (Leptailurus serval)
- Genus Caracal
- Caracal (Caracal caracal)
- Genus Profelis
- African Golden Cat (Profelis aurata)
- Genus Catopuma
- Bay Cat (Catopuma badia)
- Asian Golden Cat (Catopuma temminckii)
- Genus Pardofelis
- Marbled Cat (Pardofelis marmorata)
- Genus Felis
- Subfamily Pantherinae
- Subfamily Felinae
Alternative classification
Genetic research gives a more concise classification for the cat family [2][1]:
- Lineage 1: Panthera, Uncia, Neofelis
- Lineage 2: Pardofelis, Catopuma,
- Lineage 3: Leptailurus, Caracal, Profelis
- Lineage 4: Leopardus
- Lineage 5: Lynx
- Lineage 6: Puma, Herpailurus, Acinonyx
- Lineage 7: Prionailurus
- Lineage 8: Felis
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG). 2007. Global invasive species database: Felis catus. Invasive Species Specialist Group Website. Retrieved May 16, 2007.
- IUCN Species Survival Commission (IUCN). 2007. ICUN Red List of Threatened Species: Felidae. International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Retrieved May 16, 2007.
- Mott, M. (January 11, 2006). Cats Climb New family Tree. National Geographic News
- Nowak, R. M., and J. L. Paradiso. 1983. Walker's Mammals of the World. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0801825253.
- Shoemaker, Alan (1996). 1996 Taxonomic and Legal Status of the Felidae. Felid Taxonomic Advisory Group of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. Retrieved 2006-07-15.
- Turner, A. (1997). The big cats and their fossil relatives. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-10229-1.
- University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP). 2007. Introduction to the Carnivora] Retrieved May 4, 2007.
- Voelker, W. 1986. The Natural History of Living Mammals. Medford, New Jersey: Plexus Publishing, Inc. ISBN 0937548081.
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- ↑ 1.0 1.1 W. C. Wozencraft, "Order Carnivora," in D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder (eds.), Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. (Washington : Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993). ISBN 1560982179.
- ↑ W.E. Johnson et al.: The Late Miocene radiation of Modern Felidae: A genetic assessment. Science, Bd. 311, S. 73-77, Jan. 2006