Felis

Etymology

The generic name Felis is derived from Classical Latin fēlis 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.

Pocock accepted the Pallas's cat as the only member of the genus Otocolobus.

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:

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.

References

References

1. Pocock, R. I.. (1951). "Catalogue of the genus ''Felis''". British Museum of Natural History.
2. (2006). "The Late Miocene Radiation of Modern Felidae: A Genetic Assessment". Science.
3. (1998). "Patterns of Y and X chromosome DNA sequence divergence during the Felidae radiation". Genetics.
4. Valpy, F. E. J.. (1828). "An Etymological Dictionary of the Latin Language". A. J. Valpy.
5. Linnaeus, C.. (1758). "Systema naturae per regna tria naturae: secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis". Laurentii Salvii.
6. Clutton-Brock, J.. (1999). "A Natural History of Domesticated Mammals". Cambridge University Press.
7. Schreber, J. C. D.. (1778). "Die Säugthiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur mit Beschreibungen (Dritter Theil)". Expedition des Schreber'schen Säugthier- und des Esper'schen Schmetterlingswerkes.
8. (2015). "''Felis silvestris''".
9. Schreber, J. C. D.. (1778). "Die Säugethiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur, mit Beschreibungen". Wolfgang Walther.
10. (2016). "''Felis chaus''".
11. (1780). "Herrn von Büffons Naturgeschichte der vierfüssigen Thiere. Mit Vermehrungen, aus dem Französischen übersetzt. Sechster Band". Joachim Pauli.
12. (2022). "''Felis lybica''".
13. (1824). "Travels in the Interior of Southern Africa, Vol. II". Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green.
14. (2016). "''Felis nigripes''".
15. Loche, V.. (1858). "Description d'une nouvelle espèce de Chat par M. le capitaine Loche". Revue et Magasin de Zoologie Pure et Appliquée.
16. (2016). "''Felis margarita''".
17. (1892). "Observations sur les mammifères du Thibet". Revue Générale des Sciences Pures et Appliquées.
18. (2015). "''Felis bieti''".
19. Other scientists consider it also a ''Felis'' species.{{MSW3 Wozencraft |page=538 |id=14000029 |heading=Genus ''Felis''}}
20. (2007). "The Near Eastern Origin of Cat Domestication". Science.
21. (1906). "Su due Mustelidi e un Felide del Pliocene Toscano". Bollettino della Società Geologica Italiana.
22. Stach, Jan. (1961). "On two carnivores from the Pliocene breccia of Węże". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.
23. (1904). "The Black Wild Cat of Transcaucasia". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London.
24. "Catalogue of the Specimens of Caucasian Large Mammalian Fauna in the Collection". [[Georgian National Museum]].
25. (1992). "The taxonomic status of black wild felids in Scotland". Journal of Zoology.
26. (1992). "Zooarchaeology and the biogeographical history of the mammals of Corsica and Sardinia since the last ice age". Mammal Review.
27. (2017). "A revised taxonomy of the Felidae: The final report of the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group". Cat News.
28. Saplakoglu, Y.. (2019). "Meet the Cat-Fox, an Oddball Feline Roaming Around a French Island".