Felidae

All cats are members of the family Felidae. The felines are the most strictly carnivorous of all the nine families in the order to which they belong, Carnivora. It is thought that the closest relatives of the cats are the other families in their branch of the carnivore evolutionary tree: the civets, hyenas, and mongooses. The first felids emerged during the Eocene, about 40 million years ago. The most familiar feline is the Domestic Cat, which first became associated with humans between 7000 and 4000 years ago. Its wild relatives remain in Africa and western Asia to this day, although habitat destruction has restricted their range.

Other well-known members of the cat family include big cats such as the Lion, Tiger, Leopard, Jaguar, and Cheetah (although the Cheetah, despite its size, appears to be descended from the small cats), and other wild cats such as the lynxes, Puma, and Bobcat.

Table of contents

1 Classification 2 Fossil cats 3 References 4 See also

Classification

• Subfamily Felinae
  • Genus Felis
    • Wild Cat, Felis silvestris
      • Desert Cat or African Wild Cat, Felis silvestris lybica, sometimes Felis lybica
      • Domestic Cat, Felis silvestris catus, sometimes Felis catus
    • Sand Cat, Felis margarita
    • Jungle Cat, Felis chaus
    • Black-footed Cat, Felis nigripes
    • Chinese Desert Cat, Felis bieti
  • Genus Otocolobus
    • Pallas Cat, Otocolobus manul
  • Genus Catopuma
    • Asiatic Golden Cat, Catopuma temmincki
    • Bay Cat, Catopuma badia
  • Genus Profelis
    • African Golden Cat, Profelis aurata
  • Genus Prionailurus
    • Leopard Cat, Prionailurus bengalensis
    • Fishing Cat, Prionailurus viverrinus
    • Flat-headed Cat, Prionailurus planiceps
    • Rusty-spotted Cat, Prionailurus rubiginosus
  • Genus Lynx
    • Eurasian Lynx, Lynx lynx
    • Spanish Lynx, Lynx pardinus
    • Canada Lynx, Lynx canadensis
    • Bobcat, Lynx rufus
  • Genus Caracal
    • Caracal, Caracal caracal
  • Genus Leptailurus
    • Serval, Leptailurus serval
  • Genus Herpailurus
    • Jaguarundi, Herpailurus yaguarondi
  • Genus Oncifelis
    • Pampas Cat, Oncifelis colocolo
    • Geoffroy's Cat, Oncifelis geoffroyi
    • Kodkod, Oncifelis guigna
  • Genus Oreailurus
    • Andean Cat, Oreailurus jacobita
  • Genus Leopardus
    • Ocelot, Leopardus pardalis
    • Margay, Leopardus wiedii
    • Little Spotted Cat, Leopardus tigrinus
  • Genus Puma
    • Puma, Puma concolor
• Subfamily Pantherinae
  • Genus Pardofelis
    • Marbled Cat, Pardofelis marmorata
  • Genus Neofelis
    • Clouded Leopard, Neofelis nebulosa
  • Genus Uncia
    • Snow Leopard, Uncia uncia
  • Genus Panthera
    • Lion, Panthera leo
    • Tiger, Panthera tigris
    • Leopard, Panthera pardus
    • Jaguar, Panthera onca
• Subfamily Acinonychinae
  • Genus Acinonyx
    • Cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus

The oldest known felines (Aelurogale, Eofelis) emerged in the Eocene. Better known is Proailurus, which 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 three above-mentioned subfamilies and another subfamily, the Machairodontinae. This group, better known as the sabertooth cats, became extinct in the Pleistocene era. It includes the genera Smilodon, Machairodus, Dinofelis and Homotherium.

References

• Mammal Species of The World
• www.csew.com/fe---
• www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ht---
• www.itis.usda.gov/s---

• Phantom cats

Felidae is also the title of a novel by Akif Pirincci in which a cat named Joseph investigates the murders of several cats in the big city. The sequel is Felidae on the Road.