FELIS-UK

Author: felisuk

  • FELIS – Small cat lineages Cont…

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    Puma Lineage: The Puma lineage which diverged around 6.7 million years ago. In this lineage we see two of what we define as large cats and one small cat. Interestingly the two large cats, cheetahs and pumas are more closely related and similar to their smaller relations than they are to the large cat family.…

  • FELIS – Small cat lineages Cont…

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    felisuk
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    Lynx Lineage: Continuing our look at Cat lineages we come to the fifth lineage divergence and the ancestor of the Lynx species. The split is believed to have occurred around 7.2 million years ago with the Lynx lineage containing four separate species in one genus. Distributions of the Lynx species are split between North America…

  • FELIS – Small cat lineages Cont…

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    felisuk
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    Leopardus Lineage: Continuing our look at Small wild cat lineages we come to the fourth divergence out of eight. The Leopardus lineage contains the largest number (eight) of small wild cats and is the ancestor of the ocelot. The divergence is believed to have happened around 8 million years ago and the cats found in…

  • A Paws for thought

    A Paws for thought

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    Taking a break from our Small wild cat lineages we look at paws. Along with tails and ears (see previous posts), it is another physical trait whereby we can see some morphological differences in small wild cats. In this post, we will look at a handful of cats and show how the differences in their…

  • FELIS – Small cat lineages cont..

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    felisuk
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    Caracal Lineage: Continuing our look at small wild cat lineages today we look at the third lineage to diverge; The Caracal lineage. The divergence is believed to have happened around 8.5 million years ago and includes a further three of our current small wild cats. The Serval, the African Golden cat and unsurprisingly the Caracal.…

  • FELIS – Small cat lineages cont..

    FELIS – Small cat lineages cont..

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    felisuk
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    Pardofelis lineage. Continuing our look at Small wild cat lineages we have come to the Pardofelis lineage. This was the second to diverge after the Panthera lineage and is understood to contain 3 of our current small wild cats. It’s believed this divergence occurred around 9.4 million years ago. The three cats in this lineage…

  • FELIS – Small cat lineages

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    All cats, large & small are thought to have evolved from Proailurus (meaning “before the cat”), a prehistoric cat that lived in Eurasia in the Late Oligocene and Miocene periods, approximately 25 million years ago. It is thought these cats were a little larger than  today’s domestic cats, weighed roughly 20 lbs and were largely…

  • FELIS – Ears!

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    felisuk
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    Last week we looked at tails and how a cats habitat can affect their morphology. In the same way, a cats hunting habits can have a strong impact on the physiology of a cats ears. As you can see from the images below, cats have evolved to have very different looking ears, from the short…

  • FELIS – Melanistic Cats

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    Melanistic Cats A cats fur colour can vary greatly, even among those born in the same litter. Small wild cats born of the same litter can typically be spotted/stripped or plain but also all black. This black colouring of the fur is due to an increased amount of melanin, a black pigment in the fur.…

  • FELIS – Tails

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    felisuk
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    TAILS: The shape of a cats tail varies greatly between species and the tails we see today are the product of a long and complex evolutionary history. As with many species in the animal kingdom a small wild cats morphology, or physical traits, have been affected by millions of years of natural selection and the…