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Wildcat

Not to be confused with Feral cat.
This article is about the Old World wildcat. For other uses, see Wildcat (disambiguation).
Wildcat
European wildcat (Felis silvestris)
European wildcat (Felis silvestris)
African wildcat (Felis lybica)
African wildcat (Felis lybica)
Scientific classificationEdit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Felinae
Genus: Felis
Binomial name
Felis silvestris
Schreber, 1777
Felis lybica
Forster, 1780
Distribution of the wildcat species complex[1]
Distribution of the wildcat species complex[1]

The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (Felis silvestris) and the African wildcat (F. lybica). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the African wildcat inhabits semi-arid landscapes and steppes in Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Central Asia, into western India and western China.[2] The wildcat species differ in fur pattern, tail, and size: the European wildcat has long fur and a bushy tail with a rounded tip; the smaller African wildcat is more faintly striped, has short sandy-gray fur and a tapering tail; the Asiatic wildcat (F. lybica ornata) is spotted.[3]

The wildcat and the other members of the cat family had a common ancestor about 10–15 million years ago.[4] The European wildcat evolved during the Cromerian Stage about 866,000 to 478,000 years ago; its direct ancestor was Felis lunensis.[5] The silvestris and lybica lineages probably diverged about 173,000 years ago.[6]

The wildcat is categorized as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2002, since it is widely distributed in a stable global population exceeding 20,000 mature individuals. Some local populations are threatened by introgressive hybridisation with the domestic cat (F. catus), contagious disease, vehicle collisions and persecution.[1]

The association of African wildcats and humans appears to have developed along with the establishment of settlements during the Neolithic Revolution, when rodents in grain stores of early farmers attracted wildcats. This association ultimately led to it being tamed and domesticated: the domestic cat is the direct descendant of the African wildcat.[7] It was one of the revered cats in ancient Egypt.[8] The European wildcat has been the subject of mythology and literature.[9][10]

  1. ^ a b c Yamaguchi, N.; Kitchener, A.; Driscoll, C.; Nussberger, B. (2015). "Felis silvestris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T60354712A50652361. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T60354712A50652361.en. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  2. ^ Kitchener, A. C.; Breitenmoser-Würsten, C.; Eizirik, E.; Gentry, A.; Werdelin, L.; Wilting, A.; Yamaguchi, N.; Abramov, A. V.; Christiansen, P.; Driscoll, C.; Duckworth, J. W.; Johnson, W.; Luo, S.-J.; Meijaard, E.; O’Donoghue, P.; Sanderson, J.; Seymour, K.; Bruford, M.; Groves, C.; Hoffmann, M.; Nowell, K.; Timmons, Z.; Tobe, S. (2017). "A revised taxonomy of the Felidae: The final report of the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group" (PDF). Cat News (Special Issue 11): 16−20.
  3. ^ Yamaguchi, N.; Kitchener, A.; Driscoll, C. & Nussberger, B. (2004). "Craniological differentiation between European wildcats (Felis silvestris silvestris), African wildcats (F. s. lybica) and Asian wildcats (F. s. ornata): implications for their evolution and conservation" (PDF). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 83: 47–63. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2004.00372.x.
  4. ^ Johnson, W. E.; O'Brien, S. J. (1997). "Phylogenetic Reconstruction of the Felidae Using 16S rRNA and NADH-5 Mitochondrial Genes". Journal of Molecular Evolution. 44 (S1): S98–S116. Bibcode:1997JMolE..44S..98J. doi:10.1007/PL00000060. PMID 9071018. S2CID 40185850.
  5. ^ Kurtén, B. (1965). "On the evolution of the European Wild Cat, Felis silvestris Schreber" (PDF). Acta Zoologica Fennica. 111: 3–34.
  6. ^ Driscoll, C. A.; Menotti-Raymond, M.; Roca, A. L.; Hupe, K.; Johnson, W. E.; Geffen, E.; Harley, E. H.; Delibes, M.; Pontier, D.; Kitchener, A. C.; Yamaguchi, N.; O’Brien, S. J.; Macdonald, D. W. (2007). "The Near Eastern Origin of Cat Domestication" (PDF). Science. 317 (5837): 519–523. Bibcode:2007Sci...317..519D. doi:10.1126/science.1139518. PMC 5612713. PMID 17600185.
  7. ^ Clutton-Brock, J. (1999). "Cats". A Natural History of Domesticated Mammals (Second ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 133–140. ISBN 978-0-521-63495-3.
  8. ^ Baldwin, J. A. (1975). "Notes and speculations on the domestication of the cat in Egypt". Anthropos. 70 (3/4): 428−448.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference k2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference ha17 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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