iSand Cat
Conservation status
Near Threatened (NT)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Felidae Genus: Felis Species: F. margarita
Binomial name
Felis margarita Loche, 1858

The Sand Cat (Felis margarita) is a small wild cat (length 50 cm, plus 30 cm tail) distributed over African and Asian deserts. The name "Desert Cat" is reserved for a subspecies of the true Wild Cat, but it would go better with this species. It lives in those arid areas, that are even too hot and dry for the Desert Cat: the Sahara, the Arabian Desert, and the deserts of Iran and Pakistan. Image File history File links Felis_margarita. ... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive. ... Image File history File links Status_iucn3. ... Near Threatened (NT) is an IUCN category assigned to species or lower taxa which may be considered threatened with extinction in the near future, although it does not currently qualify for the threatened status. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Subregnum Parazoa Porifera Subregnum Eumetazoa Placozoa Orthonectida Rhombozoa Radiata (unranked) Ctenophora Cnidaria Bilateria (unranked) Acoelomorpha Myxozoa Superphylum Deuterostomia Chordata Hemichordata Echinodermata Chaetognatha Superphylum Ecdysozoa Kinorhyncha Loricifera Priapulida Nematoda Nematomorpha Onychophora Tardigrada Arthropoda Superphylum Platyzoa Platyhelminthes Gastrotricha Rotifera Acanthocephala Gnathostomulida Micrognathozoa Cycliophora Superphylum Lophotrochozoa Sipuncula Nemertea Phoronida Bryozoa Entoprocta Brachiopoda... {{{subdivision_ranks}}} See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Orders Multituberculata (extinct) Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Triconodonta (extinct) Subclass Australosphenida Ausktribosphenida Monotremata Subclass Eutheria (excludes extinct ancestors) Afrosoricida Anagaloidea (extinct) Arctostylopida (extinct) Artiodactyla Carnivora Cetacea Chiroptera Cimolesta (extinct) Cingulata Creodonta (extinct) Condylarthra (extinct) Dermoptera Desmostylia (extinct) Dinocerata (extinct) Embrithopoda (extinct) Hyracoidea Insectivora Lagomorpha Leptictida (extinct) Litopterna (extinct) Macroscelidea Mesonychia (extinct) Notoungulata... Families 17, See classification The diverse and interesting order Carnivora IPA: (from Latin carō (stem carn-) flesh, + vorāre to devour) includes over 260 placental mammals. ... Subfamilies Felinae Pantherinae Acinonychinae Machairodontinae (extinct) The Felidae family includes lions, tigers, domestic cats, and other felines as its members. ... Felis is a genus of cats in the family Felidae. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Victor Loche (1806 - 1863) was a French soldier and naturalist. ... 1858 (MDCCCLVIII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... A world map showing the continent of Africa. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... Binomial name Felis silvestris Schreber, 1775 subspecies See text The wild cat (Felis silvestris), sometimes wildcat or wild-cat especially when distinguishing from other wild species of felines, is a small predator native to Europe, the western part of Asia, and Africa. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

The head is conspicuously broad, the ears are large and pointed. The colour of the fur is a sandy yellow, with pallid bars, which are sometimes hardly visible. Generally the bars are more visible in the African subspecies. The tip of the tail is black. The paws are covered with long hairs in order to protect the skin against the hot sand.

In the daytime the Sand Cat hides under rocks. At night it hunts for rodents, lizards and insects. Suborders Sciuromorpha Castorimorpha Myomorpha Anomaluromorpha Hystricomorpha Rodentia is an order of mammals (Mammalia). ... Families Many, see text. ... Orders See taxonomy Insects are invertebrates that are taxonomically referred to as the class Insecta. ...

There are four subspecies:

• Felis margarita margarita, Sahara
• Felis margarita harrisoni, Arabia
• Felis margarita thinobia, Iran
• Felis margarita scheffeli, Pakistan Sand Cat Pakistan

Felis m. thinobia is sometimes regarded as a separate species; Felis m. scheffeli is listed by CITES as endangered, although IUCN only lists it as 'near threatened' as of 2001. The Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula is a mainly desert peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia and an important part of the greater Middle East. ... The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an international agreement between Governments, drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of the World Conservation Union (IUCN). ... The critically endangered Amur Tiger, a rare subspecies of tiger. ... The World Conservation Union or International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

External links

• The Sand Cat by Roy Mathur
• Sand Cat from Big Cat Rescue
• Lioncrusher's Domain-- Sand Cat