Felis catus, cat taxonomy
- Taxonomic lineage of domestic cat Felis catus
- Felidae (cat family)
- Subfamily Acinonychinae (cheetah)
- Subfamily Felinae ("little" cats)
- Subfamily Pantherinae (panthers, big cats)
Taxonomic lineage of domestic cat Felis catus
cellular organisms - Eukaryota - Fungi/Metazoa group - Metazoa - Eumetazoa - Bilateria - Coelomata - Deuterostomia - Chordata - Craniata - Vertebrata - Gnathostomata - Teleostomi - Euteleostomi - Sarcopterygii - Tetrapoda - Amniota - Mammalia - Theria - Eutheria - Laurasiatheria - Carnivora - Feliformia - Felidae - Felinae - Felis - Felis catus
Felidae (cat family)
Cat family (Felidae) belongs to order Carnivora.
The Felidae is made up of two distinct evolutionaty lineages, the modern cats, often referred as the true cats, and the extinct sabertoothed cats in the subfamily Machairodontinae. Both lineages are highly adapted to predation, but the great anatomical divergence within the group indicates that evolutionary selection has been very different. The American sabercat Smilodon fatalis (Pleistocene, 1.8 mya—10,000 years ago) is among the most charismatic of fossil carnivores. Its hunting techniques are still debated. Extreme specialisations of its features indicate predation on a large prey exclusively. The sabercats is a prime example of strong selective forces for an unusual feeding ecology, resulting in highly derived species that eventually proved to be not viable when climate, prey availability and overall ecological conditions changed.
Extant representative of Felidae family are divided into three subfamilies, each of which contains one or more genera.
Subfamily Acinonychinae (cheetah)
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Acinonychinae
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Acinonyx
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Acinonyx jubatus
Cheetah
Cheetah lounging around in its enclosure in Maryland zoo.
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Acinonyx jubatus
Cheetah
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Acinonyx
Subfamily Felinae ("little" cats)
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Felinae
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Caracal
- Caracal caracal Caracal
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Catopuma
- Catopuma badia Bay cat
- Catopuma temminckii Asiatic golden cat
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Felis
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Felis catus
Domestic cat
- Felis chaus Jungle cat
- Felis margarita Sand cat
- Felis nigripes Black-footed cat
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Felis silvestris
Wild cat - considered a progenitor of the domestic cat.
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Felis silvestris
bieti Chinese desert cat -
Felis silvestris
cafra Southern African wildcat -
Felis silvestris
libyca Near Eastern wildcat -
Felis silvestris
ornata Central Asian wildcat -
Felis silvestris
silvestris European wildcat
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Felis silvestris
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Felis catus
Domestic cat
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Herpailurus
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Herpailurus
yaguarondi Jaguarundi
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Herpailurus
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Leopardus
Small spotted cats mostly native to Central and South America.
- Leopardus colocolo Colocolo
- Leopardus geoffroyi Geoffroy's cat
- Leopardus guigna Kodkod
- Leopardus pardalis Ocelot
- Leopardus tigrinus Little spotted cat
- Leopardus wiedii Margay
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Leptailurus
- Leptailurus serval Serval
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Lynx
- Lynx canadensis Canada lynx
- Lynx lynx Eurasian lynx
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Lynx pardinus
Spanish lynx
The endangered Iberian lynx feeds almost exclusively upon European rabbits, and rabbit scarcity has been identified as a major factor of lynx decline. López-Bao JV et al. PLoS One. 2009; 4(10): e7610. -
Lynx rufus
Bobcat
A bobcat drawn to a scent lure placed near an infrared-triggered camera. Dobson A et al. PLoS Med. 2006 Jun;3(6):e231.
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Oreailurus
- Oreailurus
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Otocolobus
- Otocolobus manul Pallas's cat, manul
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Prionailurus
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Prionailurus
bengalensis Leopard cat -
Prionailurus
iriomotensis Iriomote cat -
Prionailurus
planiceps Flat-headed cat
Photo of a flat-headed cat, camera-trapped in Tangkulap Forest Reserve, Sabah, Malaysia in March 2009. Wilting A et al. PLoS One. 2010 Mar 17;5(3):e9612.
This diminutive cat, with adults weighing as little as 1.59 kg, occurs in southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo. Most information on the distribution and natural history of the flat-headed cat comes from opportunistic incidental sightings, specimen collectors, and a few animals kept in captivity. -
Prionailurus
rubiginosa Rusty-spotted cat -
Prionailurus
viverrinus Fishing cat
Early morning in National Zoo (Washington, DC)
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Prionailurus
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Profelis
- Profelis aurata African golden cat
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Puma
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Puma concolor
Puma, cougar
Photo credit: Liza Gross. PLoS Biol. 2008 February; 6(2)
The cougar once the most widely distributed carnivore in the United States, was extirpated east of the Mississippi River by the early 1900s, save for a remnant population in Florida, which now struggles to survive with fewer than 90 individuals.
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Puma concolor
Puma, cougar
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Caracal
Subfamily Pantherinae (panthers, big cats)
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Pantherinae
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Neofelis
- Neofelis diardi Bornean clouded leopard
- Neofelis nebulosa Clouded leopard
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Panthera
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Panthera leo
Lion
Male lion in San Diego zoo. - Panthera onca Jaguar
- Panthera pardus Leopard
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Panthera tigris
Tiger
Sumatran Tiger cub (San Diego Zoo). Ryder OA. PLoS Genet. 2009 Aug;5(8):e1000603.
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Panthera leo
Lion
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Pardofelis
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Pardofelis
marmorata Marbled cat
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Pardofelis
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Uncia
- Uncia uncia Snow leopard
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Neofelis
More about cats at GeoChemBio
- Cat main page (facts, domestication, nutrition, model organism)
- Cat reproductive cycle (mating, estrous cycle)
- Cat development (from fertilization to adult)
- Cat behavior (illustrated)
- Feline diabetes (all you need to know, Pushkin's lab, etc.)
References
- Christiansen P. Evolution of skull and mandible shape in cats (Carnivora: Felidae). PLoS One. 2008 Jul 30;3(7):e2807.
- McHenry CR, Wroe S, Clausen PD, Moreno K, Cunningham E. Supermodeled sabercat, predatory behavior in Smilodon fatalis revealed by high-resolution 3D computer simulation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Oct 9;104(41):16010-5.
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