Asiatic wildcat

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Asiatic wildcat
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Felinae
Genus: Felis
Species:
F. lybica
Subspecies:
F. l. ornata
Trinomial name
Felis lybica ornata
Gray, 1830–1832

The Asiatic wildcat (Felis lybica ornata), also known as the Asian steppe wildcat and the Indian desert cat, is an African wildcat subspecies that occurs from the eastern Caspian Sea north to Kazakhstan, into western India, western China and southern Mongolia.[1][2] There is no information on current status or population numbers across the Asiatic wildcat's range as a whole, but populations are thought to be declining.[3][4]

Taxonomy

Illustration of an Indian wildcat from Thomas Hardwicke's collection

Felis ornata was the

described spotted wildcat zoological specimens
from Asian range countries and proposed names, including the following:

In the 1940s, Reginald Innes Pocock reviewed the collection of wildcat skins and skulls in the Natural History Museum, London and subordinated all the spotted wildcat specimens to Felis lybica, arguing that size of skulls and teeth do not differ from those from African range countries.[12]

Characteristics

The Asiatic wildcat's fur is light sandy coloured with small rounded spots on its upper body. These spots are solid and sharply defined, and do not occur in clusters. The spots on the chest and abdomen are much larger and more blurred than on the back, and usually do not form transverse rows or stripes on the trunk. Its colours and patterns vary greatly. The hairs along the spine are usually darker, forming a dark gray, brownish or ochreous band. The upper lips and eyelids are light, pale yellow-white. The facial region is of an intense gray colour, while the top of the head is covered with a dark gray coat. In some individuals, the forehead is covered in dense clusters of brown spots. A narrow, dark brown stripe extends from the corner of the eye to the base of the ear. The lower neck, throat, neck, and the region between the forelegs are devoid of spots, or only with indistinct spots. The thighs are distinctly striped. The underside is whitish, with a light gray, creamy or pale yellow tinge. The tail is mostly the same colour as the back, with the addition of a dark and narrow stripe along the upper two-thirds of the tail; it appears thin, as the hairs are short and close-fitting. The tip of the tail is black, with two to five black transverse rings above it.[13]

The Asian wildcat has a long, tapering tail, always with a short black tip, and with spots at the base. The forehead has a pattern of four well-developed black bands. A small but pronounced tuft of hair up to one cm long grows from the tip of each ear. Paler forms of Asian wildcat live in drier areas and the darker, more heavily spotted and striped forms occur in more humid and wooded areas. The throat and ventral surfaces are whitish to light grey to cream, often with distinct white patches on the throat, chest and belly. Throughout its range the Asian wildcat's coat is usually short, but the length of the fur can vary depending on the age of the animal and the season of the year. Compared to the domestic cat, Asian wildcats have relatively longer legs. Males are generally heavier than females.[1]

In Pakistan and India, wildcats have pale sandy yellow coats, marked with small spots that tend to lie in vertical lines down the trunk and flanks.[14][15] The wildcats of

Tian Shan Mountains.[16]

The Asiatic wildcat weighs about 3–4 kg (6.6–8.8 lb).[14][15]

Distribution and habitat

The

Caspian sea. It usually occurs in close proximity to water sources, but is also able to live year-round in waterless desert. It ranges up to 2,000 to 3,000 m (6,600 to 9,800 ft) in mountain areas with sufficient dense vegetation. Snow depth limits the northern boundaries of its range in winter.[13]

In Iran, the Asiatic wildcat has been recorded in arid plains, lush forests, coastal areas and mountains, but not in extremely high altitudes and deserts.[17]

In Afghanistan, the Asiatic wildcat has been recorded prior to 1973 in the central Hazarajat mountains and the steppe region, near Shibar Pass and Herat, and in Bamyan Province.[18]

In

scrub desert.[19] In 1999, it was still reported as common in the Rajasthani districts of Bikaner, Barmer, Jaisalmer, Pali and Nagaur.[20] Only four sightings were reported from the Thar Desert between 1999 and 2006.[21] It has been recorded in Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary,[22] in Madhya Pradesh and Mirzapur forests.[23][24]

In

Sindh Province.[14]

In the 1990s, wildcats were reported common and populations stable in the lowlands of Kazakhstan. A pronounced loss of range has been documented in Azerbaijan.[25]

Within China, the Asian wildcat is distributed in

pesticides.[27]

Ecology and behaviour

Asiatic wildcats are frequently observed in the daytime. They frequently use rock crevices or burrows dug by other animals.[13]

Hunting and diet

In

Ili River, the wildcat mainly targets rodents, muskrats, and Tamarisk jird. Occasionally, remains of young roe deer and wild boar are present in its faeces. After rodents, birds follow in importance, along with reptiles, fish, insects, eggs, grass stalks and nuts (which probably enter the cat's stomach through pheasant crops).[13]

In the scrub habitat of western Rajasthan, they live largely on desert

sand boas, geckos, scorpions and beetles.[19]

Results of a feed item analysis of Asiatic wildcats in the

Cardiocranius spp., Agamid lizards and sand lizard.[27]

Parasites and infestations

The wildcat is highly parasitised by

Capillaria feliscati and Ancylostoma caninum. Wildcats in Azerbaijan carry Hydatigera krepkogorski and T. mystax. In Transcaucasia, the majority of wildcats are infested by the tick Ixodes ricinus. In some summers, wildcats are infested with fleas of the genus Ceratophyllus, which they likely contract from brown rats.[13]

Threats

Female Asiatic wildcats mate quite often with domestic males, and hybrid offspring are frequently found near villages where wild females live.[13] They have been hunted at large in Afghanistan; in 1977 over 1200 pelts manufactured into different articles were on display in Kabul bazaars.[18]

Conservation

The Asiatic wildcat is included on

CITES Appendix II. It is protected in Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Mongolia, China and Russia. In Afghanistan, it has been placed on the country's first Protected Species List in 2009, banning all hunting and trading within the country, and is proposed as a priority species for future study.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Nowell, K.; Jackson, P. (1996). "Asiatic Wildcat Felis silvestris, ornata group (Gray 1830)". Wild Cats: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group. pp. 99−101.
  2. ^ Kitchener, A. C.; Breitenmoser-Würsten, C.; Eizirik, E.; Gentry, A.; Werdelin, L.; Wilting, A.; Yamaguchi, N.; Abramov, A. V.; Christiansen, P.; Driscoll, C.; Duckworth, J. W.; Johnson, W.; Luo, S.-J.; Meijaard, E.; O’Donoghue, P.; Sanderson, J.; Seymour, K.; Bruford, M.; Groves, C.; Hoffmann, M.; Nowell, K.; Timmons, Z.; Tobe, S. (2017). "A revised taxonomy of the Felidae: The final report of the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group" (PDF). Cat News. Special Issue 11: 17−20.
  3. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T131299383A154907281.en
    . Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  4. ^ Jutzeler, E.; Xie, Y.; Vogt, K. (2010). "Cats in China: Asian wildcat" (PDF). Cat News (Special Issue 5): 42–43.
  5. ^ Gray, J. E. (1830–1832). "Felis ornata Gray. Beautiful cat". Illustrations of Indian Zoology; Chiefly Selected from the Collection of Major-General Hardwicke, F.R.S. Volume 1. London: Treuttel, Würtz, Treuttel, Jun. and Richter. p. Plate 2.
  6. ^ Gray, J. E. (1874). "On the Steppe-Cat of Bokhara (Chaus caudatus)". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London: Plate VI−VII, 31−33.
  7. ^ Blanford, W. T. (1876). "Description of Felis Shawiana, a new Lyncine cat from Eastern Turkestan". The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 45 (2): 49−51.
  8. ^ Satunin, K. (1904). "Neue Katzenarten aus Central-Asien" [New cat species from Central Asia]. Annuaire du Musée Zoologique de l'Académie des Sciences de St. Pétersbourg. 9: 524−537.
  9. ^ Zukowsky, L. (1914). "Drei neue Kleinkatzenrassen aus Westasien" [Three new races of small cats from West Asia]. Archiv für Naturgeschichte. Abteilung A. 80 (10): 124−146.
  10. ^ Birulya, A. (1916). "De Felibus asiaticis duabus novis" [About two new Asiatic cats]. Annuaire du Musée Zoologique de l'Académie des Sciences de St. Pétersbourg. 21 (Supplement): I−II.
  11. ^ Ogneff, S. I. (1930). "Übersicht der russischen Kleinkatzen" (PDF). Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde. 5 (2): 48−85.
  12. ^ Pocock, R. I. (1951). "Felis lybica, Forster". Catalogue of the Genus Felis. London: Trustees of the British Museum. pp. 50−133.
  13. ^
    ISBN 9004088768
    .
  14. ^
    ISBN 9780510399009
    .
  15. ^
    ISBN 978-0-226-77999-7
    .
  16. ^ Groves, C. P. (1980). "The Chinese mountain cat (Felis bieti)". Carnivore. 3 (3): 35–41.
  17. ^ Ghoddousi, A.; Hamidi, A. Kh.; Ghadirian, T.; Bani’Assadi, S. (2016). "The status of Wildcat in Iran - a crossroad of subspecies?". Cat News (Special Issue 10): 60–63.
  18. ^
    ISBN 9788188722068
    .
  19. ^ a b Sharma, I. K. (1979). "Habits, feeding, breeding and reaction to man of the desert cat Felis libyca (Gray) in the Indian Desert". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 76 (3): 498–499.
  20. doi:10.11609/jott.zpj.18.4.1085-8
    .
  21. ^ Dookia, S. (2007). "Sighting of Asiatic Wildcat in Gogelao Enclosure, Nagaur in Thar Desert of Rajasthan". Cat News (46): 17–18.
  22. doi:10.11609/JoTT.o3351.5283-7
    .
  23. ISBN 978-93-5279-561-1. Archived from the original
    on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  24. ^ "Sloth bear surprise for experts in Mirzapur forests | Lucknow News - Times of India". The Times of India. No. Lucknow. The Times of India. 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  25. ^ Belousova, A.V. (1993). "Small Felidae of Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Far East: survey of the state of populations". Lutreola. 2: 16–21.
  26. ISBN 978-0691099842
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  27. ^ a b Abdukadir, A.; Khan, B.; Masuda, R.; Ohdachi, S. (2010). "Asiatic wild cat (Felis silvestris ornata) is no more a 'Least Concern' species in Xinjiang, China" (PDF). Pakistan Journal of Wildlife. 1 (2): 57–63.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Felis silvestris ornata.
Wikispecies has information related to Felis silvestris.
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