Cretan Wildcat
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| Cretan Wildcat[1] | ||||||||||||||||
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| Felis silvestris cretensis Haltenorth, 1953 |
The Cretan Wildcat (Felis silvestris cretensis) is a Wildcat subspecies that inhabits the Greek island of Crete. It was long thought to have gone extinct, but in 1996 a specimen was captured by an expedition from the University of Perugia.[citation needed]
[edit] Origin of the Cretan Wildcat
The Cretan Wildcat is more closely related to the African Wildcat than to its European cousins. Since cats are weak swimmers, scientists now examine two hypotheses:
- The animal existed on Crete prior to the separation of Crete from the neighboring mainland.
- The animal was brought to Crete for domestication by the first settlers, but later it ran wild again[2].
[edit] References
- ^ Wozencraft, W. C. (16 November 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 536-537. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
- ^ An article about the Cretan wildcat by "STIGMES, the magazine of Crete"
