Felidae

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Felidae
Ma[1]
TigerCanada lynxServalCougarFishing catAsian golden catOcelotEuropean wildcat
Clockwise, a tiger (Panthera tigris), Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus), European wildcat (Felis silvestris), ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), Asian golden cat (Catopuma temminckii), serval (Leptailurus serval), and cougar (Puma concolor).
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Superfamily:
Feloidea
Family: Felidae
Fischer von Waldheim, 1817
Type genus
Felis
Genera and Subfamilies
The native distribution and density of extant felid species.

Felidae (

domestic cat (Felis catus).[7]

The 41

crepuscular to diurnal, depending on their preferred prey species.[9]

Reginald Innes Pocock divided the extant Felidae into three subfamilies: the Pantherinae, the Felinae and the Acinonychinae, differing from each other by the ossification of the hyoid apparatus and by the cutaneous sheaths which protect their claws.[10] This concept has been revised following developments in

genera.[11]

The first cats emerged during the

extinct "saber-tooth" felids of the subfamily Machairodontinae, which range from the type genus Machairodus of the late Miocene to Smilodon of the Pleistocene. The "false saber-toothed cats", the Barbourofelidae and Nimravidae, are not true cats but are closely related. Together with the Felidae, Viverridae, hyenas and mongooses, they constitute the Feliformia.[7]

Characteristics

Domestic cat purring
Domestic cat meowing
Lion roaring
Close-up photo of a cat paw with extended claws
Extended claws on a house cat
Lionesses grooming each other

All members of the cat family have the following characteristics in common:

  • They are
    cutaneous sheaths, except in the Acinonyx.[12]
  • The plantar pads of both fore and hind feet form compact three-lobed cushions.[13]
  • They actively protract the claws by contracting muscles in the toe,[9] and they passively retract them. The dewclaws are expanded but do not protract.[14]
  • They have lithe and flexible bodies with muscular limbs.[9]
  • Their skulls are foreshortened with a rounded profile and large orbits.[14]
  • They have 30 teeth with a
    canine teeth are large, reaching exceptional size in the extinct saber-toothed species. The lower carnassial is smaller than the upper carnassial and has a crown with two compressed blade-like pointed cusps.[9]
  • Their
    papillae, which rasp meat from prey and aid in grooming.[14]
  • Their noses project slightly beyond the lower jaw.[12]
  • Their eyes are relatively large, situated to provide
    nocturnal. The retina of felids also contains a relatively high proportion of rod cells, adapted for distinguishing moving objects in conditions of dim light, which are complemented by the presence of cone cells for sensing colour during the day.[9]
  • They have well-developed and highly sensitive whiskers above the eyes, on the cheeks, and the muzzle, but not below the chin.[12] Whiskers help to navigate in the dark and to capture and hold prey.[14]
  • Their
    external ears are large and especially sensitive to high-frequency sounds in the smaller cat species. This sensitivity allows them to locate small rodent prey.[9]
  • The penis is subconical,[12] facing backwards when not erect.[15] The baculum is small or vestigial, and shorter than in the Canidae.[16][17]
  • Felids have a vomeronasal organ in the roof of the mouth, allowing them to "taste" the air.[18] The use of this organ is associated with the Flehmen response.[19]
  • They cannot detect the sweetness of sugar, as they lack the sweet taste receptor.[20]
  • They share a broadly similar set of vocalizations but with some variation between species. In particular, the pitch of calls varies, with larger species producing deeper sounds; overall, the frequency of felid calls ranges between 50 and 10,000 hertz.[21][22] The standard sounds made by all felids include meowing, spitting, hissing, snarling and growling. Meowing is the main contact sound, whereas the others signify an aggressive motivation.[9]
  • They can
    Hz and is mixed with other vocalization types during the expiratory phase.[23] The ability to roar comes from an elongated and specially adapted larynx and hyoid apparatus.[24] When air passes through the larynx on the way from the lungs, the cartilage walls of the larynx vibrate, producing sound. Only lions, leopards, tigers, and jaguars are truly able to roar, although the loudest mews of snow leopards have a similar, if less structured, sound.[9]

The colour, length and density of their fur are very diverse. Fur colour covers the gamut from white to black, and fur patterns from distinctive small spots, and stripes to small blotches and rosettes. Most cat species are born with spotted fur, except the jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi), Asian golden cat (Catopuma temminckii) and caracal (Caracal caracal). The spotted fur of lion (Panthera leo) and cougar (Puma concolor) cubs change to uniform fur during their ontogeny.[8] Those living in cold environments have thick fur with long hair, like the snow leopard (Panthera uncia) and the Pallas's cat (Otocolobus manul).[14] Those living in tropical and hot climate zones have short fur.[9] Several species exhibit melanism with all-black individuals.[25]

In the great majority of cat species, the tail is between a third and a half of the body length, although with some exceptions, like the Lynx species and margay (Leopardus wiedii).[9] Cat species vary greatly in body and skull sizes, and weights:

  • The largest cat species is the tiger (Panthera tigris), with a head-to-body length of up to 390 cm (150 in), a weight range of at least 65 to 325 kg (143 to 717 lb), and a skull length ranging from 316 to 413 mm (12.4 to 16.3 in).[9][26] Although the maximum skull length of a lion is slightly greater at 419 mm (16.5 in), it is generally smaller in head-to-body length than the former.[27]
  • The smallest cat species are the rusty-spotted cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus) and the black-footed cat (Felis nigripes). The former is 35–48 cm (14–19 in) in length and weighs 0.9–1.6 kg (2.0–3.5 lb).[9] The latter has a head-to-body length of 36.7–43.3 cm (14.4–17.0 in) and a maximum recorded weight of 2.45 kg (5.4 lb).[28][29]

Most cat species have a

haploid number of 18 or 19. Central and South American cats have a haploid number of 18, possibly due to the combination of two smaller chromosomes into a larger one.[30]

Most cat species are also induced ovulators, although the margay appears to be a spontaneous ovulator.[15]

Felidae have type IIx muscle fibers three times more powerful than the muscle fibers of human athletes.[31]

Evolution

Feliform evolutionary timeline
Artist's reconstruction of Smilodon fatalis
Graphical reconstruction of an American lion (Panthera atrox)

The family Felidae is part of the Feliformia, a suborder that diverged probably about 50.6 to 35 million years ago into several families.[32] The Felidae and the Asiatic linsangs are considered a sister group, which split about 35.2 to 31.9 million years ago.[33]

The earliest cats probably appeared about 35 to 28.5 million years ago.

Ursidae and the Nimravidae, and about 10 million years later than the Canidae.[34]

In the Early Miocene about 20 to 16.6 million years ago, Pseudaelurus lived in Africa. Its fossil jaws were also excavated in geological formations of Europe's Vallesian, Asia's Middle Miocene and North America's late Hemingfordian to late Barstovian epochs.[35]

In the Early or Middle Miocene, the saber-toothed Machairodontinae evolved in Africa and migrated northwards in the Late Miocene.[36] With their large upper canines, they were adapted to prey on large-bodied megaherbivores.[37][38] Miomachairodus is the oldest known member of this subfamily. Metailurus lived in Africa and Eurasia about 8 to 6 million years ago. Several Paramachaerodus skeletons were found in Spain. Homotherium appeared in Africa, Eurasia and North America around 3.5 million years ago, and Megantereon about 3 million years ago. Smilodon lived in North and South America from about 2.5 million years ago. This subfamily became extinct in the Late Pleistocene.[36]

Results of

Early Pliocene. The skull of the holotype is similar to that of a lion or leopard.[41] Panthera zdanskyi dates to the Gelasian about 2.55 to 2.16 million years ago. Several fossil skulls and jawbones were excavated in northwestern China.[42] Panthera gombaszoegensis is the earliest known pantherine cat that lived in Europe about 1.95 to 1.77 million years ago.[43]

Living felids fall into eight evolutionary lineages or species clades.[44][45] Genotyping of the nuclear DNA of all 41 felid species revealed that hybridization between species occurred in the course of evolution within the majority of the eight lineages.[46]

Modelling of felid coat pattern transformations revealed that nearly all patterns evolved from small spots.[47]

Classification

Traditionally, five subfamilies had been distinguished within the Felidae based on

Proailurinae.[48] Acinonychinae used to only contain the genus Acinonyx but this genus is now within the Felinae subfamily.[11]

Phylogeny

The following cladogram based on Piras et al. (2013) depicts the phylogeny of basal living and extinct groups.[49]

 Felidae 
 †Proailurus 
Proailurinae

Proailurus bourbonnensis

Proailurus lemanensis

Proailurus major

 "Pseudaelurus" 
Pseudaelurus lineage
 †Pseudaelurus 

Pseudaelurus quadridentatus

Pseudaelurus cuspidatus

Pseudaelurus guangheesis

Machairodontinae

 †Hyperailurictis 
Hyperailurictis lineage

Hyperailurictis intrepidus

Hyperailurictis marshi

Hyperailurictis stouti

Hyperailurictis validus

Hyperailurictis skinneri

 †Sivaelurus 

Sivaelurus chinjiensis

Styriofelis lineage
 †Styriofelis 

Styriofelis turnauensis

Styriofelis romieviensis

 Felinae 

Felinae

 †Miopanthera 

Miopanthera lorteti

Miopanthera pamiri

Pantherinae

sensu lato
(grade)

The phylogenetic relationships of living felids are shown in the following cladogram:[46]

  Felidae  
Panthera lineage
  Pantherinae  
  Panthera  

Leopard (P. pardus)

Lion (P. leo)

Jaguar (P. onca)

Snow leopard (P. uncia)

Tiger (P. tigris)

  Neofelis  

Clouded leopard (N. nebulosa)

Sunda clouded leopard (N. diardi)

  Felinae  
Caracal lineage
  Caracal  

Caracal (C. caracal)

African golden cat (C. aurata)

  
Leptailurus
  

Serval (L. serval)

Ocelot lineage
  Leopardus  

Geoffroy's cat (L. geoffroyi)

Kodkod (L. guigna)

Southern tiger cat
(L. guttulus)

Oncilla (Northern tiger cat, L. tigrina)

Pampas cat (L. colocola)

Andean mountain cat (L. jacobita)

Ocelot (L. pardalis)

Margay (L. wiedii)

Bay cat lineage
  Catopuma  

Bay cat (C. badia)

Asian golden cat (C. temminckii)

  Pardofelis  

Marbled cat (P. marmorata)

  Lynx  
Lynx lineage

Eurasian lynx (L. lynx)

Iberian lynx (L. pardinus)

Canada lynx (L. canadensis)

Bobcat (L. rufus)

Puma lineage
  Puma  

Cougar (P. concolor)

  
Herpailurus
  

Jaguarundi (H. yagouaroundi)

  Acinonyx  

Cheetah (A. jubatus)

Leopard cat lineage
  Prionailurus  

Sunda leopard cat (P. javanensis)

Leopard cat (P. bengalensis)

Fishing cat (P. viverrinus)

Flat-headed cat (P. planiceps)

Rusty-spotted cat (P. rubiginosus)

  
Otocolobus
  

Pallas's cat (O. manul)

  Felis  
Domestic cat lineage

Jungle cat (F. chaus)

Black-footed cat (F. nigripes)

Sand cat (F. margarita)

  wildcats  

Chinese mountain cat (F. bieti)

African wildcat (F. lybica)

European wildcat (F. silvestris)

Domestic cat (F. catus)

See also

References

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  14. ^ a b c d e Kitchener, A. C.; Van Valkenburgh, B.; Yamaguchi, N. (2010). "Felid form and function". In Macdonald, D.; Loveridge, A. (eds.). Biology and Conservation of wild felids. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 83−106. Archived from the original on 2021-02-16. Retrieved 2018-09-11.
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External links