Cats
The cat family (Felidae) occur naturally on all continents except Australia and Antarctica. Most cat species live solitary lives, lions being an exception. All cats are carnivorous.
Genus
Acinonyx
Cheetah (species)Leptailurus
Serval (species)Puma
Puma (species)
Roaring cats (Panthera)These are the only cats that can roar - the leopard, lion, tiger and jaguar. Members of genus Panthera are all big cats, although there are also big cats in other genera.
Uncia
Snow leopard (species)
Earth News
-
New cat family tree revealed
Modern cats have their roots in Asia 11 million years ago, according to a DNA study of wild and domestic cats.
About
Felidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid or feline. Felids are the strictest carnivores of the sixteen mammal families in the order Carnivora. The most familiar felid is the domestic cat, which first became associated with humans about 10,000 years ago, but the family includes all other wild cats including the big cats.
Extant felids belong to one of two subfamilies: Pantherinae (which includes the Tiger, the Lion, the Jaguar, and the Leopard), and Felinae (which includes the Cougar, the Cheetah, the Serval, the Lynxes and Caracal, along with the Ocelot and Domestic Cat).
The first felids emerged during the Oligocene, about 25 million years ago. In prehistoric times, there was a third subfamily known as Machairodontinae, which included the "saber-toothed cats" such as the well known Smilodon. There were also other cat-like mammals, such as Thylacosmilus or the Nimravidae, which are not included in Felidae despite superficial similarities.
This entry is from Wikipedia, the user-contributed encyclopedia. If you find the content in the 'About' section factually incorrect, defamatory or highly offensive you can edit this article at Wikipedia. For more information on our use of Wikipedia please read our FAQ.
Scientific Classification
Family: Felidae
Other Carnivora
- Ailuridae (species: Red panda)
- Bears (Ursidae)
- Dogs (Canidae)
- Earless seals (Phocidae)
- Fur seals and sealions (Otariidae)
- Herpestidae (species: Meerkat)
- Raccoons, coatis and allies (Procyonidae)
- Weasels, badgers and allies (Mustelidae)
Site links
BBC links
© MMIX
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.