Felis

Felis is a genus of small and medium-sized cat species native to most of Africa and south of 60° latitude in Europe and Asia to Indochina. The genus includes the domestic cat. The smallest of the seven Felis species is the black-footed cat with a head and body length from Template:Cvt. The largest is the jungle cat with a head and body length from Template:Cvt.

Genetic studies indicate that the Felinae genera Felis, Otocolobus and Prionailurus diverged from a Eurasian progenitor of the Felidae about Template:Ma, and that Felis species split off 3.04 to 0.99 million years ago.

Etymology

The generic name Felis is derived from Classical Latin Template:Lang meaning 'cat, ferret'.

Taxonomy

Carl Linnaeus considered Felis to comprise all cat species known until 1758. Later taxonomists split the cat family into different genera. In 1917, the British zoologist Reginald Innes Pocock revised the genus Felis as comprising only the ones listed in the following table. Estimated genetic divergence times of the listed species are indicated in million years ago (Mya), based on analysis of autosomal, xDNA, yDNA and mtDNA gene segments.

Species	Image	IUCN Red List status and distribution
Domestic cat (F. catus) Template:Small	File:Jammlich crop.jpg	Template:IUCN status Worldwide in association with humans or feral
European wildcat (F. silvestris) Template:Small	File:European Wildcat Nationalpark Bayerischer Wald 03.jpg	Template:IUCN status File:EuropeanWildcat distribution.jpg
Jungle cat (F. chaus) Template:Small	File:Jungle Cat Felis chaus by Dr. Raju Kasambe DSCN7957 (3).jpg	Template:IUCN status File:Distribution of Jungle Cat.jpg
African wildcat (F. lybica) Template:Small	File:Parc des Felins Chat de Gordoni 28082013 2.jpg	Template:IUCN status File:AfricanWildcat distribution.jpg
Black-footed cat (F. nigripes) Template:Small	File:Black-footed cat, Zoo Wuppertal, July 2009.jpg	Template:IUCN status File:Black-footedCat distribution.jpg
Sand cat (F. margarita) Template:Small	File:Persian sand CAT.jpg	Template:IUCN status File:SandCat distribution.jpg
Chinese mountain cat (F. bieti) Template:Small	File:Chinese Mountain Cat (Felis Bieti) in XiNing Wild Zoo croped.jpg	Template:IUCN status File:ChineseMountainCat distribution.jpg

Pocock accepted the Pallas's cat as the only member of the genus Otocolobus. Other scientists consider it also a Felis species.

Several scientists consider the Chinese mountain cat a subspecies of F. silvestris.

Phylogeny

The phylogenetic relationships of living Felis species are shown in the following cladogram: Template:Cladogram Template:Clear

Extinct Felis species

Extinct Felis species in the fossil record include:

• Felis lunensis (Martelli, 1906)
• Felis wenzensis (Stach, 1961)

Characteristics

Felis species have high and wide skulls, short jaws and narrow ears with short tufts, but without any white spots on the back of the ears. Their pupils contract to a vertical slit. A black cat from Transcaucasia described in 1904 as F. daemon by Satunin turned out to be a feral cat, probably a hybrid of wildcat and domestic cat. The Kellas cat is a hybrid between domestic cat and European wildcat occurring in Scotland.

The Corsican wildcat is considered to have been introduced to Corsica before the beginning of the 1st millennium. A genetic study of a dozen individuals showed that they are closely related to the African wildcat originating in the Middle East.

External links

• Template:Cite Americana