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'Felidae' is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a 'felid'. They are the most strictly carnivorous mammals of the nine families in the order Carnivora. The first felids emerged during the Oligocene, about 30 million years ago. The most familiar feline is the Domestic Cat or House Cat, which first became associated with humans about 10,000 years ago. Its wild relative, the Desert Wildcat, still lives in the Near East and Africa, although habitat destruction has restricted its range.
Other well-known members of the feline family include big cats such as the Lion, the Tiger, the Leopard, the Jaguar, the Cougar, and the Cheetah, and other wild cats such as the lynxes and the Caracal. The extinct subfamily Machairodontinae, including the "saber-toothed cats" such as the well known ''Smilodon'', were also true felines, in contrast to similar animals such as ''Thylacosmilus'' or Nimravidae.

Contents

Evolution

Classification

Alternative classification

Fossil felines

Cited references

General references

Evolution

There are 41 known species of felines in the world today which have all descended from a common ancestor about 10.8 million years ago. This taxa originated in Asia and spread across continents by crossing land bridges. As reported in the journal ''Science'', testing of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA by Warren Johnson and Stephen O'Brien of the U.S. National Cancer Institute demonstrated that ancient cats evolved into eight main lineages that diverged in the course of at least 10 migrations (in both directions) from continent to continent via the Bering land bridge and Isthmus of Panama. The ''Panthera'' species are the oldest and the ''Felis'' species are the youngest. They estimated that 60 percent of the modern species of cats developed within the last million years. Cats Climb New family Tree Most felids have a haploid number of 18 or 19. New world cats (those in Central and South America) have a haploid number of 18, possibly due to the combination of two smaller chromosomes into one larger chromosome. Robinson's Genetics for Cat Breeders and Veterinarians, 4th ed., , Carolyn, Vella, Butterworh-Heinemann, , ISBN 0-7506-4069-3
Prior to this discovery, biologists had been largely unable to establish a family tree of cats from the fossil record because the fossils of different cat species all look very much alike, differing primarily in size.
The felines' closest relatives are thought to be the civets, hyenas, and mongooses. All feline species share a genetic anomaly that prevents them from tasting sweetness. Pseudogenization of a Sweet-Receptor Gene Accounts for Cats' Indifference toward Sugar

Classification

★ FAMILY 'FELIDAE'

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★ Subfamily Felinae

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★ Genus ''Felis''

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★ Chinese Mountain Cat (''Felis bieti'')

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★ Jungle Cat (''Felis chaus'')

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★ Pallas's Cat (''Felis manul'')

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★ Sand Cat (''Felis margarita'')

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★ Black-footed Cat (''Felis nigripes'')

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★ Wild Cat (''Felis sylvestris'') (including the Domestic Cat)

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★ Genus ''Prionailurus''

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★ Leopard Cat (''Prionailurus bengalensis'')

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★ Iriomote Cat (''Prionailurus iriomotensis'')

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★ Flat-headed Cat (''Prionailurus planiceps'')

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★ Rusty-spotted Cat (''Prionailurus rubiginosus'')

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★ Fishing Cat (''Prionailurus viverrinus'')

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★ Genus ''Puma''

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★ Cougar (''Puma concolor'')

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★ Jaguarundi (''Puma yagouaroundi'')

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★ Genus ''Acinonyx''

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★ Cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'')

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★ Genus ''Lynx''

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★ Canadian Lynx (''Lynx canadensis'')

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★ Eurasian Lynx (''Lynx lynx'')

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★ Iberian Lynx (''Lynx pardinus'')

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★ Bobcat (''Lynx rufus'')

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★ Genus ''Leopardus''

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★ Pantanal (''Leopardus braccatus'')

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★ Colocolo (''Leopardus colocolo'')

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★ Geoffroy's Cat (''Leopardus geoffroyi'')

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★ Kodkod (''Leopardus guigna'')

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★ Andean Mountain Cat (''Leopardus jacobitus'')

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★ Pampas Cat (''Leopardus pajeros'')

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★ Ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'')

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★ Oncilla (''Leopardus tigrinus'')

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★ Margay (''Leopardus wiedii'')

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★ Genus ''Leptailurus''

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★ Serval (''Leptailurus serval'')

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★ Genus ''Caracal''

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★ Caracal (''Caracal caracal'')

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★ Genus ''Profelis''

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★ African Golden Cat (''Profelis aurata'')

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★ Genus ''Catopuma''

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★ Bay Cat (''Catopuma badia'')

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★ Asian Golden Cat (''Catopuma temminckii'')

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★ Genus ''Pardofelis''

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★ Marbled Cat (''Pardofelis marmorata'')

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★ Subfamily Pantherinae

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★ Genus ''Neofelis''

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★ Clouded Leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa'')

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★ Bornean Clouded Leopard (''Neofelis diardi'')

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★ Genus ''Panthera''

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★ Lion (''Panthera leo'')

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★ Jaguar (''Panthera onca'')

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★ Leopard (''Panthera pardus'')

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★ Tiger (''Panthera tigris'')

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★ Genus ''Uncia''

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★ Snow Leopard (''Uncia uncia'')

Alternative classification

Genetic research gives a more concise classification for the living members of the cat family:^[1]

★ Lineage 1: ''Panthera'', ''Uncia'', ''Neofelis''

★ Lineage 2: ''Pardofelis'', ''Catopuma'',

★ Lineage 3: ''Leptailurus'', ''Caracal'', ''Profelis''

★ Lineage 4: ''Leopardus''

★ Lineage 5: ''Lynx''

★ Lineage 6: ''Puma'', ''Acinonyx''

★ Lineage 7: ''Prionailurus''

★ Lineage 8: ''Felis''

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''.

Cited references

1. W.E. Johnson et al.: ''The Late Miocene radiation of Modern Felidae: A genetic assessment''. Science, Bd. 311, S. 73-77, Jan. 2006

General references

★ 1996 Taxonomic and Legal Status of the Felidae

★ The big cats and their fossil relatives, Turner, A., , , Columbia University Press, 1997, ISBN 0-231-10229-1