Cats
Tiger
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Felidae
Subfamilies
Felinae Pantherinae Acinonychinae Machairodontinae (extinct)

All cats are members of the family Felidae. The felines are the most strictly carnivorous of the nine families in the order Carnivora. The cats' closest relatives are thought to be the other families in their branch of the carnivore evolutionary tree: the civets, hyenas, and mongooses. The first felids emerged during the Eocene, about 40 million years ago. The most familiar feline is the domestic cat, which first became associated with humans between 7000 and 4000 years ago. Its wild relatives still live in Africa and western Asia, although habitat destruction has restricted their range.

Other well-known members of the cat family include big cats such as the lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar, and cheetah (which despite its size, appears to be descended from the small cats), and other wild cats such as the lynx, puma, and bobcat.

Classification

• Subfamily Felinae
  • Genus Felis
    • Wild Cat, Felis silvestris
      • Desert Cat or African Wild Cat, Felis silvestris lybica, sometimes Felis lybica
      • Domestic Cat, Felis silvestris catus, sometimes Felis catus
    • Sand Cat, Felis margarita
    • Jungle Cat, Felis chaus
    • Black-footed Cat, Felis nigripes
    • Chinese Desert Cat, Felis bieti
  • Genus Otocolobus
    • Pallas Cat, Otocolobus manul
  • Genus Catopuma
    • Asiatic Golden Cat, Catopuma temminckii
    • Bay Cat, Catopuma badia
  • Genus Profelis
    • African Golden Cat, Profelis aurata
  • Genus Prionailurus
    • Leopard Cat, Prionailurus bengalensis
    • Fishing Cat, Prionailurus viverrinus
    • Flat-headed Cat, Prionailurus planiceps
    • Rusty-spotted Cat, Prionailurus rubiginosus
  • Genus Lynx
    • Eurasian Lynx, Lynx lynx
    • Spanish Lynx, Lynx pardinus
    • Canadian Lynx, Lynx canadensis
    • Bobcat, Lynx rufus
  • Genus Caracal
    • Caracal, Caracal caracal
  • Genus Leptailurus
    • Serval, Leptailurus serval
  • Genus Herpailurus
    • Jaguarundi, Herpailurus yaguarondi
  • Genus Oncifelis
    • Pampas Cat, Oncifelis colocolo
    • Geoffroy's Cat, Oncifelis geoffroyi
    • Kodkod, Oncifelis guigna
  • Genus Oreailurus
    • Andean Cat, Oreailurus jacobita
  • Genus Leopardus
    • Ocelot, Leopardus pardalis
    • Margay, Leopardus wiedii
    • Little Spotted Cat, Leopardus tigrinus
  • Genus Puma
    • Puma, Puma concolor
• Subfamily Pantherinae
  • Genus Pardofelis
    • Marbled Cat, Pardofelis marmorata
  • Genus Neofelis
    • Clouded Leopard, Neofelis nebulosa
  • Genus Uncia
    • Snow Leopard, Uncia uncia
  • Genus Panthera
    • Lion, Panthera leo
    • Tiger, Panthera tigris
    • Leopard, Panthera pardus
    • Jaguar, Panthera onca
• Subfamily Acinonychinae
  • Genus Acinonyx
    • Cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus

Fossil cats

The oldest known felines (Aelurogale, Eofelis) emerged in the Eocene. Better known is Proailurus, which lived in the Oligocene and Miocene eras. During the Miocene it gave way to Pseudaelurus. Pseudaelurus is believed to be the latest common ancestor of the three above-mentioned subfamilies and another subfamily, the Machairodontinae. This group, better known as the sabertooth cats, became extinct in the early Pleistocene era. It includes the genera Smilodon, Machairodus, Dinofelis and Homotherium.

References

• Mammal Species of The World (http://nmnhwww.si.edu/msw/)
• www.csew.com/fe--- (http://www.csew.com/felidtag/pages/Reports/taxon_legal.htm)
• www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ht--- (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Taxonomy/wgetorg?mode=Undef&id=9681&lvl=3&keep=1&srchmode=1&unlock)
• www.itis.usda.gov/s--- (http://www.itis.usda.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt)

See also

• Phantom cats

Felidae is also the title of a novel by Akif Pirinçci in which a cat named Francis investigates the murders of several cats in the big city. There are currently 5 books in the Felidae sequece: Felidae, Felidae II (also known as Felidae on the Road), Cave Canem, Das Duell and Salve Roma, of which only the first 2 have been translated into English.