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(Redirected from Wild cat)
The 'Wildcat' (''Felis silvestris''), sometimes 'Wild Cat' or 'Wild-cat', is a small predator native to Europe, the western part of Asia, and Africa. It is a hunter of small mammals, birds, and other creatures of a similar size. There are several subspecies distributed in different regions. Sometimes included is the ubiquitous domestic cat (''Felis silvestris catus''), which has been introduced to every habitable continent and most of the world's larger islands, and has become feral in many of those environments.
In its native environment, the Wildcat is adaptable to a variety of habitat types: savanna, open forest, and steppe. Although domesticated breeds show a great variety of shapes and colours, wild individuals are medium-brown with black stripes, between 45 and 80 cm (18–32 inches) in length, and weigh between 3 and 8 kilograms (6–17.6 pounds). Shoulder height averages about 35 cm (14 in) and tail length is about 30 cm (12 in). The African subspecies tends to be a little smaller and a lighter brown in colour.
The Wildcat is extremely timid. It avoids coming too close to human settlements. It lives solitarily and holds a territory of about 3 km².
A study by the National Cancer Institute suggests that all current house cats in the world are descendants from a group of self-domesticating wildcats 10,000 years ago, somewhere in the Near East.[1] The closest relative of ''Felis sylvestris'' is ''Felis margarita''.
According to the 2007 DNA analysis, there are only 5 subspecies[2] :
★ ''Felis silvestris silvestris'' (Europe and Turkey).
★ ''Felis silvestris lybica'' (North Africa, Middle East and Western Asia, to the Aral Sea).
★ ''Felis silvestris cafra'' (Southern Africa).
★ ''Felis silvestris ornata'' (Pakistan, North-East of India, Mongolia and northern China).
★ ''Felis silvestris bieti'' (China).
Older texts separated out many more subspecies:
★ African subspecies
★
★ ''Felis silvestris cafra'' (Southern Africa)
★
★ ''Felis silvestris foxi'' (West Africa)
★
★ ''Felis silvestris griselda'' (Central Africa)
★
★ ''Felis silvestris lybica'' African Wildcat (North Africa)
★
★ ''Felis silvestris ocreata'' (East Central Africa)
★
★ ''Felis silvestris mellandi'' (West Central Africa)
★ Asian subspecies
★
★ ''Felis silvestris caudata'' (Caspian Sea area)
★
★ ''Felis silvestris ornata'' Indian Desert Cat (India to Iran)
★
★ ''Felis silvestris bieti'' Chinese Mountain Cat (possible subspecies)
★ European subspecies
★
★ ''Felis silvestris cretensis'' (Crete) (extinct, though some sightings have been reported).
★
★ ''Felis silvestris caucasica'' Caucasian Wildcat (Caucasus Mountains and Turkey)
★
★ ''Felis silvestris grampia'' Scottish Wildcat (northern and western Scotland)
★
★ ''Felis silvestris jordansi'' Balearic Wildcat (Balearic Islands)
★
★ ''Felis silvestris reyi'' Corsican Wildcat (Corsica) (Possibly Extinct)
★
★ ''Felis silvestris silvestris'' European Wildcat (Europe)
★ Unknown distribution:
★
★ ''Felis silvestris chutuchta''
★
★ ''Felis silvestris gordoni''
★
★ ''Felis silvestris haussa''
★
★ ''Felis silvestris iraki''
★
★ ''Felis silvestris nesterovi''
★
★ ''Felis silvestris rubida''
★
★ ''Felis silvestris tristrami''
★
★ ''Felis silvestris ugandae''
★
★ ''Felis silvestris vellerosa''
★ Lynx, any of several medium-sized wild cats
1. Study Traces Cat's Ancestry to Middle East
2. « ''The Near Eastern Origin of Cat Domestication'' », Science, 29 june 2007. : summary. Authors : Carlos A. Driscoll and al. (M. Menotti-Raymond, A.L. Roca, W.E. Johnson et S.J. O'Brien from the National Cancer Institute in Frederick, MD ; C.A. Driscoll, N. Yamaguchi & D. Macdonald of the Oxford University, Oxford, UK ; A.L. Roca of SAIC-Frederick society, Inc. in Frederick, MD ; K. Hupe of Jagd Einrichtungs Büro in Fürstenhagen, Germany ; E. Geffen Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel ; E. Harley Cape Town University, Cape Town, South-Africa ; M. Delibes, CSIC, Seville, Espagna ; D. Pontier, UMR-CNRS 5558, Villeurbanne, France ; D. Pontier, Université Claude Bernard Lyon I à Villeurbanne, France ; A.C. Kitchener, National Museums of Scotland, Scotland, UK.).
★ ''Felis silvestris'': three distinct populations
★ ''IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group - Cat Species Information''
★ Digimorph.org: 3D computed tomographic (CT) animations of male and female African wild cat skulls
The 'Wildcat' (''Felis silvestris''), sometimes 'Wild Cat' or 'Wild-cat', is a small predator native to Europe, the western part of Asia, and Africa. It is a hunter of small mammals, birds, and other creatures of a similar size. There are several subspecies distributed in different regions. Sometimes included is the ubiquitous domestic cat (''Felis silvestris catus''), which has been introduced to every habitable continent and most of the world's larger islands, and has become feral in many of those environments.
In its native environment, the Wildcat is adaptable to a variety of habitat types: savanna, open forest, and steppe. Although domesticated breeds show a great variety of shapes and colours, wild individuals are medium-brown with black stripes, between 45 and 80 cm (18–32 inches) in length, and weigh between 3 and 8 kilograms (6–17.6 pounds). Shoulder height averages about 35 cm (14 in) and tail length is about 30 cm (12 in). The African subspecies tends to be a little smaller and a lighter brown in colour.
The Wildcat is extremely timid. It avoids coming too close to human settlements. It lives solitarily and holds a territory of about 3 km².
A study by the National Cancer Institute suggests that all current house cats in the world are descendants from a group of self-domesticating wildcats 10,000 years ago, somewhere in the Near East.[1] The closest relative of ''Felis sylvestris'' is ''Felis margarita''.
| Contents |
| Subspecies |
| See also |
| References |
| External links |
Subspecies
According to the 2007 DNA analysis, there are only 5 subspecies[2] :
★ ''Felis silvestris silvestris'' (Europe and Turkey).
★ ''Felis silvestris lybica'' (North Africa, Middle East and Western Asia, to the Aral Sea).
★ ''Felis silvestris cafra'' (Southern Africa).
★ ''Felis silvestris ornata'' (Pakistan, North-East of India, Mongolia and northern China).
★ ''Felis silvestris bieti'' (China).
The five subspecies of ''Felis silvestris'' according to a 2007 DNA study2.
Older texts separated out many more subspecies:
★ African subspecies
★
★ ''Felis silvestris cafra'' (Southern Africa)
★
★ ''Felis silvestris foxi'' (West Africa)
★
★ ''Felis silvestris griselda'' (Central Africa)
★
★ ''Felis silvestris lybica'' African Wildcat (North Africa)
★
★ ''Felis silvestris ocreata'' (East Central Africa)
★
★ ''Felis silvestris mellandi'' (West Central Africa)
★ Asian subspecies
★
★ ''Felis silvestris caudata'' (Caspian Sea area)
★
★ ''Felis silvestris ornata'' Indian Desert Cat (India to Iran)
★
★ ''Felis silvestris bieti'' Chinese Mountain Cat (possible subspecies)
★ European subspecies
★
★ ''Felis silvestris cretensis'' (Crete) (extinct, though some sightings have been reported).
★
★ ''Felis silvestris caucasica'' Caucasian Wildcat (Caucasus Mountains and Turkey)
★
★ ''Felis silvestris grampia'' Scottish Wildcat (northern and western Scotland)
★
★ ''Felis silvestris jordansi'' Balearic Wildcat (Balearic Islands)
★
★ ''Felis silvestris reyi'' Corsican Wildcat (Corsica) (Possibly Extinct)
★
★ ''Felis silvestris silvestris'' European Wildcat (Europe)
★ Unknown distribution:
★
★ ''Felis silvestris chutuchta''
★
★ ''Felis silvestris gordoni''
★
★ ''Felis silvestris haussa''
★
★ ''Felis silvestris iraki''
★
★ ''Felis silvestris nesterovi''
★
★ ''Felis silvestris rubida''
★
★ ''Felis silvestris tristrami''
★
★ ''Felis silvestris ugandae''
★
★ ''Felis silvestris vellerosa''
See also
★ Lynx, any of several medium-sized wild cats
References
1. Study Traces Cat's Ancestry to Middle East
2. « ''The Near Eastern Origin of Cat Domestication'' », Science, 29 june 2007. : summary. Authors : Carlos A. Driscoll and al. (M. Menotti-Raymond, A.L. Roca, W.E. Johnson et S.J. O'Brien from the National Cancer Institute in Frederick, MD ; C.A. Driscoll, N. Yamaguchi & D. Macdonald of the Oxford University, Oxford, UK ; A.L. Roca of SAIC-Frederick society, Inc. in Frederick, MD ; K. Hupe of Jagd Einrichtungs Büro in Fürstenhagen, Germany ; E. Geffen Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel ; E. Harley Cape Town University, Cape Town, South-Africa ; M. Delibes, CSIC, Seville, Espagna ; D. Pontier, UMR-CNRS 5558, Villeurbanne, France ; D. Pontier, Université Claude Bernard Lyon I à Villeurbanne, France ; A.C. Kitchener, National Museums of Scotland, Scotland, UK.).
External links
★ ''Felis silvestris'': three distinct populations
★ ''IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group - Cat Species Information''
★ Digimorph.org: 3D computed tomographic (CT) animations of male and female African wild cat skulls
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