Catopuma

Catopuma[1]
Catopuma temminckii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Felinae
Genus: Catopuma
Severtzov, 1858
Type species
Felis moormensis
Hogson, 1831 (= Felis temminckii Vigors and Horsfield, 1827) by monotypy
Species

Catopuma badia
Catopuma temminckii

Synonyms

Badiofelis Pocock, 1932

Catopuma is a genus containing two small Asian felines, the bay cat (C. badia) and the Asian golden cat (C. temminckii).

Both are typically reddish brown in colour, with darker markings on the head. They inhabit forested environments in Southeast Asia, with the bay cat being restricted to the island of Borneo. Originally thought to be two subspecies of the same animal, recent genetic analysis has confirmed they are, indeed, separate species.[2]

The two species diverged from one another 4.9-5.3 million years ago, long before Borneo separated from the neighboring islands.[3] Their closest living relative is the marbled cat, from which the common ancestor of the Catopuma genus diverged around 9.4 million years ago.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Order Carnivora". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 533–534. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. ↑ Sunquist, Mel; Sunquist, Fiona (2002). Wild cats of the World. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 49. ISBN 0-226-77999-8.
  3. ↑ W. E. Johnson et al. (1999). "Molecular genetic characterisation of two insular Asian cat species, Bornean bay cat and Iriomote cat". In S.P. Wasser. Evolutionary theory and processes: Modern perspectives, Essays in honour of Eviator Nevo. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishing. pp. 223–248.
  4. ↑ Johnson, W. E., Eizirik, E., Pecon-Slattery, J., Murphy, W. J., Antunes, A., Teeling, E., O'Brien, S. J. (2006) The late miocene radiation of modern felidae: A genetic assessment. Science 311: 73-77. download pdf