Margay
| Margay | |
|---|---|
| |
| Margay in Costa Rica | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Feliformia |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Subfamily: | Felinae |
| Genus: | Leopardus |
| Species: | L. wiedii[1]
|
| Binomial name | |
| Leopardus wiedii[1] (Schinz, 1821)
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| Distribution of the margay, 2015[2] | |
| Synonyms | |
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The margay (Leopardus wiedii) is a small
Until the 1990s, margays were hunted for the wildlife trade, at which point the killing of the species was outlawed in most countries; however, years of persecution resulted in a notable population decrease.[5] Since 2008, the margay has been listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, as the population is thought to be declining due to loss of habitat and deforestation.[2]
The
Characteristics
The margay is very similar to the larger ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) in appearance, although the head is a little shorter, the eyes larger, and the tail and legs longer. It weighs from 2.6 to 4 kg (5.7 to 8.8 lb), with a body length of 48 to 79 cm (19 to 31 in) and a tail length of 33 to 51 cm (13 to 20 in). Unlike most other cats, the female possesses only two teats.[7]
Its fur is brown and marked with numerous rows of dark brown or black rosettes and longitudinal streaks. The undersides are paler, ranging from buff to white, and the tail has numerous dark bands and a black tip. The backs of the ears are black with circular white markings in the centre.[7]
Distribution and habitat
The margay is distributed from the tropical lowlands in
The only record from the United States was collected sometime before 1852 near
Fossil record
Fossilized margay remains have been collected from Pleistocene deposits in Orange County, Texas along the Sabine River; like the ocelot and jaguar, it is thought to have ranged over considerable portions of southern Texas at the time.[9] Margay fossils dating to 45,475–46,157 BP are known from the Toca da Barriguda cave in Bahia, Brazil.[12] Pleistocene remains of the margay were also found in Florida.[13]
Pleistocene fossils of margay-like cats, dubbed Leopardus amnicola, have been found in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, suggesting that they may have had an even wider distribution in prehistory.[14][15]
Behavior and ecology
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The margay is a skillful climber, and colloquially it is sometimes called the tree ocelot because of this ability. It spends most of the time in trees, leaping after and chasing birds and monkeys through the treetops. It can turn its ankles up to 180 degrees, so it can grasp branches equally well with its fore and hind paws, and it is able to jump up to 12 ft (3.7 m) horizontally.[7] They also utilize their long tails to maintain balance while climbing. Morphological adaptation such as these is a strong indication that the margay is well equipped to thrive in ecosystems such as rainforests in which vegetation provides the wild with protection from possible threats. Additionally, scientists that have conducted behavioral studies on margays found that population density was higher in environments with substantial amount of trees and minimal human disturbance.[16]
Diet
Dietary studies (based on stomach-content and
Reproduction and lifecycle
Female margays are in
Gestation lasts about 80 days and generally results in the birth of a single kitten (very rarely, there are two), usually between March and June. Kittens weigh 85 to 170 g (3.0 to 6.0 oz) at birth. This is relatively large for a small cat and is probably related to the long gestation period. The kittens open their eyes at around two weeks of age and begin to eat solid food at seven to eight weeks. Margays reach sexual maturity at twelve to eighteen months of age and have been reported to live more than 20 years in captivity.[7]
Cubs suffer from a 50% mortality rate. Unless mortality rates were previously lower, this is not a factor in the population decline. Simplifying, provided a pair of cats can raise 2 kittens to adulthood in their lifetime, population would be in equilibrium. Assuming one year to reach breeding age, then as long as the cats that survive infancy reach 5 years of age on average, then the pair would produce 4 kittens, of which 2 would survive infancy, thus providing a replacement pair. Coupled with the problems they have breeding in captivity, this makes the prospect of increasing the population very difficult.[citation needed]
It is usually solitary and lives in home ranges of 11–16 km2 (4.2–6.2 sq mi). It uses
A margay has been observed to mimic the vocalisation of a pied tamarin (Saguinus bicolor) infant while hunting. This represents the first observation of a Neotropical predator employing this type of mimicry.[20]
Taxonomy
Felis wiedii was the
- Felis glaucula by Oldfield Thomas in 1903 was an adult female cat skin and skull from Jalisco in central Mexico.[22]
- Felis wiedii vigens by Thomas in 1904 was an adult male cat skin and skull from Igarapé-Assu near Pará in Brazil.[23]
- Felis pirrensis by Edward Alphonso Goldman in 1914 was an adult female cat skin and skull from Cana in eastern Panama.[24]
- Margay glaucula nicaraguae by Joel Asaph Allen in 1919 was an adult male cat skin and skull from Volcan de Chinandego in Nicaragua.[25]
- Felis glaucula oaxacensis and F. g. yucatanicus by Yucatan, Mexico, respectively.[26]
- Felis wiedii cooperi by Nelson in 1943 was a skin of a male cat from Eagle Pass, Texas.[27]
Results of a genetic study of margay
- L. w. wiedii south of the Amazonas
- L. w. vigens north of the Amazonas
- L. w. glauculus in Central America
Local names
In the
References
- OCLC 62265494.
- ^ . Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ Petersen, M. K. (1977). "Behaviour of the margay". In R. L. Eaton (ed.). The world's cats, Vol. 3 (2). Seattle: Carnivore Research Institute, University of Washington. pp. 69–76.
- OL 2191814M.
- ^ Aranda, J. M. (1991). "Wild mammal skin trade in Chiapas, Mexico". In Robinson, J. G.; Redford, K. H. (eds.). Neotropical wildlife use and conservation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 174–177.
- ^ a b Schinz, H. R. (1821). "Wiedische Katze Felis wiedii". Das Thierreich eingetheilt nach dem Bau der Thiere: als Grundlage ihrer Naturgeschichte und der vergleichenden Anatomie von dem Herrn Ritter von Cuvier. Säugethiere und Vögel, Volume 1. Stuttgart, Tübingen: Cotta. pp. 235–236.
- ^ ISBN 0-226-77999-8.
- ISBN 978-1-4214-0843-9.
- ^ ISBN 0-292-70241-8.
- ISBN 0-691-07012-1.
- ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
- .
- .
- ^ Hulbert, R. C.; Morgan, G. S.; Kerner, A. (2009). "Collared Paccary (Mammalia, Artiodactyla, Tayassuidae, Pecari) from the Late Pleistocene of Florida". Papers on Geology, Vertebrate Paleontology, and Biostratigraphy in Honor of Michael O. Woodburne. Flagstaff, AZ: Museum of Northern Arizona. pp. 551–556.
- .
- PMID 32374736.
- S2CID 83976479.
- .
- ^ de Morais, Rosana Nogueira. "Reproduction in small felid males." Biology, Medicine, and Surgery of South American Wild Animals (2008): 312.
- S2CID 84438545.
- ^ Wied zu, M. (1825). "Felis macroura". Beiträge zur Naturgeschichte von Brasilien. Vol. II. Weimar: Gr. H. S. priv. Landes-Industrie-Comptoirs. pp. 371–379.
- .
- .
- .
- ^ Allen, J. A. (1919). "Notes on the synonymy and nomenclature of the smaller spotted cats of tropical America" (PDF). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 41: 341–419.
- JSTOR 1373882.
- JSTOR 1374838.
- S2CID 19865180.
- ^ 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: 49−50.
External links
