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==Characteristics==
==Characteristics==
[[File:Fishing&goldencatskulls.png|left|thumb|Illustration of skulls of fishing cat (top) and [[Asian Golden Cat|Asian golden cat]], in [[Reginald Innes Pocock|Pocock's]] ''The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma''<ref>Pocock, R.I. (1939) [http://www.archive.org/stream/PocockMammalia1/pocock1#page/n331/mode/2up ''The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Mammalia. – Volume 1'']. Taylor and Francis, Ltd., London. Pp 259–264</ref>]]
[[File:Fishing&goldencatskulls.png|left|thumb|Illustration of skulls of fishing cat (top) and [[Asian Golden Cat|Asian golden cat]], in [[Reginald Innes Pocock|Pocock's]] ''The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma''<ref>Pocock, R.I. (1939) [http://www.archive.org/stream/PocockMammalia1/pocock1#page/n331/mode/2up ''The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Mammalia. – Volume 1'']. Taylor and Francis, Ltd., London. Pp 259–264</ref>]]
Fishing cats have a stocky, muscular, build with medium to short legs, and a short tail of one half to one third the length of the rest of the animal. The face is elongated with a distinctly flat nose and ears set far back on the head. While webbed feet have previously been noted as a characteristic of the fishing cat,<ref name=WCoW/> others have reported that the partial membrane between the toes is in fact no more developed than in other wild or domestic cats.<ref name=arkive5>[http://www.arkive.org/fishing-cat/prionailurus-viverrinus/#text=References&textLocation=reference_5]</ref>{{notincitation|date=September 2011}}
The fur of fishing cats is olive-grey with dark spots arranged in horizontal streaks running along the length of the body. The underside is white, and the back of the ears are black with central white spots. There are a pair of dark stripes around the throat, and a number of black rings on the tail. An adult fishing cat is about twice the size of a [[domestic cat]], with a head and body length that typically ranges from {{convert|57|to|78|cm|in|abbr=on}}, and a {{convert|20|to|30|cm|in|abbr=on}} long tail. A few much larger individuals have been reported, of up to {{convert|115|cm|in|abbr=on}} in head-body length. Adult fishing cats weigh from {{convert|5|to|16|kg|lb}}. They have a stocky, muscular build with medium to short legs, and a short tail of one half to one third the length of the rest of the animal. The face is elongated with a distinctly flat nose and ears set far back on the head.<ref name=WCoW>{{cite book|author=Sunquist, M., Sunquist, F. |year=2002 |title= Wild cats of the World |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location= Chicago |pages= 241–245 |isbn= 0-226-77999-8 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=hFbJWMh9-OAC&lpg=PP1&dq=Wild%20cats%20of%20the%20World&pg=PA242#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref>


Their feet are less completely webbed than of [[Leopard Cat|Leopard cat]]s, their claws incompletely sheathed.<ref name=Pocock1939>Pocock, R.I. (1939) [http://www.archive.org/stream/PocockMammalia1/pocock1#page/n357/mode/2up ''Prionailurus viverrinus''] In: The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Mammalia. – Volume 1''. Taylor and Francis, Ltd., London. Pp 259–264</ref>
As with the [[cheetah]], the claws of the fishing cat do not fully retract into their sheaths. Their fur is olive-grey with dark spots arranged in horizontal streaks running along the length of the body. The underside is white, and the back of the ears are black with central white spots. There are a pair of dark stripes around the throat, and a number of black rings on the tail.<ref name=WCoW>{{cite book|author=Sunquist, M., Sunquist, F. |year=2002 |title= Wild cats of the World |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location= Chicago |pages= 241–245 |isbn= 0-226-77999-8 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=hFbJWMh9-OAC&lpg=PP1&dq=Wild%20cats%20of%20the%20World&pg=PA242#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref>
As with the [[cheetah]], they cannot fully retract their claws.<ref name=WCoW/> Others reported that the partial membrane between the toes is no more developed than in other wild or domestic cats, and that the cutaneous sheaths do not fully cover the claws, particularly in the hind feet, but they do fully retract.<ref name=cst>The Cat Survival Trust (2005) [http://www.catsurvivaltrust.org/moderncats.aspx Fishing Cat Prionailurus viverrina (Bennett, 1833)]</ref> The inter-digital webs help them gain better traction in muddy environments and water.

An adult fishing cat is about twice the size of a [[domestic cat]], with a head and body length that typically ranges from {{convert|57|to|78|cm|in|abbr=on}}, and a {{convert|20|to|30|cm|in|abbr=on}} long tail. A few much larger individuals have been reported, of up to {{convert|115|cm|in|abbr=on}} in head-body length. Adult fishing cats weigh from {{convert|5|to|16|kg|lb}}.<ref name=WCoW/>

Inter-digital webs on its paws help the cat gain better traction in muddy environments and water, like other mammals living in semi-aquatic environments.


==Distribution and habitat ==
==Distribution and habitat ==

Revision as of 12:38, 3 September 2011

Template:Distinguish2

Fishing Cat[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Carnivora
Family:
Felidae
Genus:
Prionailurus
Species:
P. viverrinus
Binomial name
Prionailurus viverrinus
(Bennett, 1833)
Fishing cat range

The Fishing Cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) is a medium-sized wild

IUCN classified the fishing cat as endangered since they are concentrated primarily in wetland habitats, which are increasingly being settled, degraded and converted. Over the last decade, the fishing cat population throughout much of its Asian range declined severely.[2]

Like its closest relative, the leopard cat, the fishing cat lives along rivers, streams and mangrove swamps. It is well adapted to this habitat, being an eager and skilled swimmer.

Characteristics

Asian golden cat, in Pocock's The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma[3]

The fur of fishing cats is olive-grey with dark spots arranged in horizontal streaks running along the length of the body. The underside is white, and the back of the ears are black with central white spots. There are a pair of dark stripes around the throat, and a number of black rings on the tail. An adult fishing cat is about twice the size of a

domestic cat, with a head and body length that typically ranges from 57 to 78 cm (22 to 31 in), and a 20 to 30 cm (7.9 to 11.8 in) long tail. A few much larger individuals have been reported, of up to 115 cm (45 in) in head-body length. Adult fishing cats weigh from 5 to 16 kilograms (11 to 35 lb). They have a stocky, muscular build with medium to short legs, and a short tail of one half to one third the length of the rest of the animal. The face is elongated with a distinctly flat nose and ears set far back on the head.[4]

Their feet are less completely webbed than of

Leopard cats, their claws incompletely sheathed.[5]
As with the cheetah, they cannot fully retract their claws.[4] Others reported that the partial membrane between the toes is no more developed than in other wild or domestic cats, and that the cutaneous sheaths do not fully cover the claws, particularly in the hind feet, but they do fully retract.[6] The inter-digital webs help them gain better traction in muddy environments and water.

Distribution and habitat

Fishing cat searching for prey near water

The range of fishing cats extends from eastern

Java constitutes the eastern limit of their range, but already in the 1990s they were scarce and apparently restricted to tidal forests with sandy or muddy shores, older mangrove stands, and abandoned mangrove plantation areas with fishponds.[7]

They are strongly associated with wetland, and are typically found in swamps and marshy areas, oxbow lakes, reed beds, tidal creeks and mangrove areas and are more scarce around smaller, fast-moving watercourses. Along watercourses they have been recorded at elevations up to 1,525 m (5,003 ft) in the Indian Himalayas, but most records are from lowland areas. Although fishing cats are widely distributed through a variety of habitat types including both evergreen and tropical dry forest, their occurrence tends to be highly localized.[8]

Ecology and behavior

A fishing cat at the San Diego Zoo. Note the ocelli on the backs of the cat's ears.

Fishing cats are solitary and primarily

scent marks that define their home range. Like many other felids, Fishing Cats also scratch trees, which serves not only to mark territory, but also maintain the claws.[9] Females have been reported to range over areas of 4 to 6 km2 (1.5 to 2.3 sq mi), while males range over 16 to 22 km2 (6.2 to 8.5 sq mi). Adults have been observed to make a "chuckling" sound and likely have other calls similar to those of domestic cats.[4]

As the name implies,

waterfowl, and crayfish, as well as terrestrial animals such as rodents, birds, snakes, and even chital fawns.[4]

Reproduction and development

Fishing cats may mate at any time of the year, although most commonly between January and February. The female constructs a den in a secluded area such as a dense thicket of reeds, and gives birth to two to three kittens after a gestation period of 63–70 days. The kittens weigh around 170 g (6.0 oz) at birth, and are able to actively move around by the age of one month. They begin to play in water and to take solid food at about two months, but are not fully weaned for six months. They reach full adult size at around eight and a half months, acquire their adult canine teeth at eleven months, and are sexually mature at fifteen months. They live for up to ten years in captivity.[4]

Threats

Fishing cat are endangered due to their dependence on

extirpated in Afghanistan, it may already be gone from Malaysia and China, and it has become rare throughout its remaining distribution range.[2]

Conservation

Prionailurus viverrinus is included on

CITES Appendix II, and protected by national legislation over most of its range. Hunting is prohibited in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand. Hunting regulations apply in Lao PDR. In Bhutan and Vietnam, the species is not protected outside protected areas.[8]

In captivity

Fishing cat captive breeding programmes have been established by the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria and the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums. All the fishing cats kept in zoos around the world are listed in the International Studbook of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Local names

In Sri Lanka, the fishing cat is known as Handun Diviya or Kola Diviya,

Rusty-spotted Cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus), another little-known small cat in suburban areas of Sri Lanka. As both animals are nocturnal and elusive, it is usually uncertain which species is referred to by either of these terms in any given usage.[11]

References

  1. OCLC 62265494
    .
  2. ^ a b c d Template:IUCN
  3. ^ Pocock, R.I. (1939) The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Mammalia. – Volume 1. Taylor and Francis, Ltd., London. Pp 259–264
  4. ^
    ISBN 0-226-77999-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  5. ^ Pocock, R.I. (1939) Prionailurus viverrinus In: The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Mammalia. – Volume 1. Taylor and Francis, Ltd., London. Pp 259–264
  6. ^ The Cat Survival Trust (2005) Fishing Cat Prionailurus viverrina (Bennett, 1833)
  7. ^ Melisch, R., Asmoro, P. B., Lubis, I. R. and Kusumawardhani, L. (1996) Distribution and status of the Fishing Cat (Prionailurus viverrinus rhizophoreus Sody, 1936) in West Java, Indonesia (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae). Faunistische Abhandlungen. Staatliches Museum für Tierkunde Dresden 20 (17): 311–319
  8. ^ a b Nowell, K., Jackson, P. (1996) Fishing Cat Prionailurus viverrinus. In: Wild Cats: status survey and conservation action plan. IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group, Gland, Switzerland.
  9. ISBN 9780521636483
    .
  10. ^ Animal Info - Fishing Cat (September 2006). Animal Info. Accessed 12 June 2010.
  11. ^ Fishing and Rusty Spotted Cats in Sri Lanka Smithsonian National Zoological Park. Accessed 12 June 2010.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Prionailurus viverrinus.
Wikispecies has information related to Prionailurus viverrinus.
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