Visayan leopard cat
| Visayan leopard cat | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Feliformia |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Subfamily: | Felinae |
| Genus: | Prionailurus |
| Species: | P. javanensis |
| Subspecies: | P. j. sumatranus |
| Population: | Visayan leopard cat |
The Visayan leopard cat, known locally as maral, is a
Negros, Cebu and Panay.[1][2] It has been listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List in 2008 under its former scientific name P. bengalensis rabori as its range is estimated to be less than 20,000 km2 (7,700 sq mi), and the population was thought to be decreasing.[3]
Taxonomy
Prionailurus bengalensis rabori was proposed in 1997 by anthropologist Colin Groves based on morphological analysis of a skin and skull. He considered it a leopard cat subspecies.[4]
Results of
Characteristics
The fur of the Visayan leopard cat is dark ochre to buffy fawn with large and dark spots. Its skull is a little narrower than that of the Sumatran leopard cat and Bornean leopard cat.[4]
Distribution and habitat
The Visayan leopard cat is endemic to the Philippine islands of Panay and Negros where it inhabits remnant forest fragments. In Cebu, it has also been recorded in
locally extinct or close to extinction on the islands of Cebu and Masbate. Panay and Negros islands have lost 90%–95 % of their natural habitat.[6]
In captivity
Five Visayan leopard cats are housed at the
Mariit Wildlife and Conservation Park at the West Visayas State University campus in Lambunao, Iloilo.[7][8]
References
- ^ Fernandez, D. a. P.; de Guia, A. P. O. (2011). "Feeding habits of Visayan leopard cats (Prionailurus bengalensis rabori) in sugarcane fields of Negros Occidental, Philippines". Asia Life Sciences. 20 (1): 143–154.
- ^ a b 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): 28–29.
- ^ a b Lorica, R. (2008). "Prionailurus bengalensis ssp. rabori". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T136889A4348516.
- ^ a b Groves, C. P. (1997). "Leopard-cats, Prionailurus bengalensis (Carnivora: Felidae) from Indonesia and the Philippines, with the description of two new species". Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde. 62: 330–338.
- PMID 28498987.
- .
- ^ Santiagudo, E. R. S. (2019). "Home of endangered Visayan species struggles with limited funding". Business World. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
- ^ Murga, A. l (2019). "A Philippine conservation park juggles funding needs with animal welfare". Mongabay Environmental News. Retrieved 2020-06-12.