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Felis silvestris

(Andean Cougar)

Overview

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Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Chinese:

Tu-li-zi, Ye-Mao

Common Names in Common name:

Wild Cat

Common Names in Dutch:

Afrikaanse wilde kat, Europese wilde kat, Huiskat, Wilde kat

Common Names in English:

Andean Cougar, african wild cat, Common Wild Cat, Domestic cat, European Wildcat, Feral cat, house cat, Lynxes, Moggy, Pussy, Small Cats, Wild Cat, Wildcat

Common Names in French:

Chat Orn?, Chat forestier, Chat gant, Chat ganté, Chat sauvage

Common Names in German:

Hauskatze

Common Names in Maori:

Poti

Common Names in Russian:

Кошка дикая африканская, Кошка дикая европейская

Common Names in Spanish:

Gato Mont?s, Gato Silvestre

Description

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Habitat

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 2,513 meters (0 to 8,245 feet).[1]

Ecology: Wildcats are found in a wide variety of habitats , from deserts and scrub grassland to dry and mixed forest , absent only from rainforest and coniferous forest. European wildcats are primarily associated with forest and are found in highest numbers in broad-leaved or mixed forests with low densities of humans. They are also found in Mediterranean maquis scrubland, riparian forest, marsh boundaries and along sea coasts. Areas of intensive cultivation are avoided. African wildcats are found everywhere outside tropical rainforest, although thinly distributed in true desert (Nowell and Jackson 1996). The Chinese alpine steppe cat is restricted to the eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau , and is found primarily in alpine meadow habitats from 2,500 to 5,000 m (He et al. 2004). Yin et al. (2007) obtained the first camera trap photos of a wild individual at 3,700 m. Asiatic wildcats have a different elevational range (up to 2,000?3,000 m), and are most typically associated with scrub desert (Nowell and Jackson 1996). Rodents and rabbits are the staple of the wildcat's diet across its range, with birds of secondary importance, although a variety of small prey is taken, and wildcats also scavenge (Nowell and Jackson 1996, Sunquist and Sunquist 2002).Phelan and Sliwa (2006) found large home ranges (52.7 km² for a radio-collared female) in desert habitat in the United Arab Emirates, larger than home ranges reported elsewhere in more optimal haibtat - 6?10 km² for females in South Africa's Kalahari Gemsbok National Park (Herbst and Mills 2005 in Stuart et al. in press ) and 1?2 km² for females in Scotland and France (Stahl et al. 1988, Macdonald et al. 2004).[2].

List of Habitats:

[more info]

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

Felis catus Linnaeus • Felis catus silvestris • Felis lybica Forster • Felis silvestris (Schreber 1777) • Felis silvestris Schreber 1777 • Felis silvestris Schreber, 1775 • Felis silvestris silvestris • Felis silvestris silvestris Ragni and Randi, 1986 • Felis sylvestris

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 15-Aug-2007

There is still no clear consensus in how to relate geographical variation in the morphology and genetics of the globally widespread Wildcat Felis silvestris to its taxonomy and systematics (Kitchener and Rees 2009). The latest phylogeographical analysis (Driscoll et al. 2007, Macdonald et al. in press ) suggests that the Wildcat consists of five subspecific groups, including three traditional subspecies (Nowell and Jackson 1996, Stuart et al. in press):the African Wildcat (F. s. lybica Forster, 1780), the Asian Wildcat (F. s. ornata Gray, 1830), and the European Wildcat (F. s. silvestris Schreber, 1775), with the additional recent recognition of the Southern African Wildcat (F. s. cafra Desmarest, 1822) and the incorporation of the Chinese Alpine Steppe Cat into the species (F. s. bieti Milne-Edwards, 1872). An alternative taxonomic treatment could be the treatment of F. bieti, F. silvestris, and F. lybica (including ornata and cafra as subspecies) as three recently radiated phylogenetic species (Kitchener and Rees 2009, Macdonald et al. in press). The familiar housecat was domesticated from the Wildcat (F.s. lybica), probably 9-10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent region of the Near East, coincident with the rise of agriculture and the need to protect harvests from grain-eating rodents, based on genetic, morphological and archaeological evidence (Driscoll et al. 2007, Macdonald et al. in press). Although derived from the Wildcat relatively recently, for practical reasons the domestic cat is differentiated either as a separate species F. catus or subspecies F.s. catus. As noted by Macdonald et al. (in press), ?In terms of biological processes and phylogeny, whether domestic cats are treated as a subspecies of F. silvestris or a separate species might seem arbitrary . However, these taxonomic niceties are of the highest operational importance because the current legislation intended to protect the Wildcat is framed in terms that can be effective only if the Wildcat is recognized as a separate species?? Domestics are different than other 'forms' of animals and arise through an unusual set of circumstances (i.e. , proximity and familiarity with people). While the genetic relationship between domestic and wildcats is very close, Driscoll et al. (2007) did find evidence for a genetically distinct group of cats that corresponds to 'domestics'[2].

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Felis

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 38 species and subspecies in this genus:

F. badia (Bay Cat) · F. bengalensis hainana (Leopard Cat) · F. bieti (Chinese Mountain Cat) · F. catus (Cat) · F. catus silvestris (African Wild Cat) · F. chaus (Andean Cougar) · F. colocolo (Pampas Cat) · F. concolor (Goldon Ringtail Possum) · F. concolor concolor (Mountain Lion) · F. concolor coryi (Florida Panther) · F. concolor couguar (Eastern Cougar) · F. concolor schorgeri (Wisconsin Cougar) · F. geoffroyi geoffroyi (Geoffroy's Cat) · F. guigna (Kodkod) · F. guigna guigna (Kodkod) · F. iriomotensis (Band-Tailed Goatfish) · F. libyca (African Wild Cat) · F. manul (Pallas's Cat) · F. margarita (Pakistan Sand Cat) · F. margarita margarita (Sand Dune Cat) · F. nigripes (African Black-Footed Cat) · F. nigripes nigripes (African Black-Footed Cat) · F. pardalis (Ocelot) · F. pardina (Spanish Lynx) · F. pardus (Small Cats) · F. planiceps (Flat-Headed Cat) · F. rubiginosa (Vogelkop Ringtail) · F. serval serval (Serval) · F. silvestris (Andean Cougar) · F. silvestris bieti (Chinese Desert Cat) · F. silvestris catus (African Wild Cat) · F. silvestris grampia (Scottish Wildcat) · F. sylvestris (Wild Cat) · F. temmincki (Asian Golden Cat) · F. tigris (Small Cats) · F. viverrina (Fishing Cat) · F. wiedii wiedii (Margay) · F. yagouaroundi cacomitli (Jaguarundi)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 17, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Mean = 325.130 meters (1,066.699 feet), Standard Deviation = 276.800 based on 1,813 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
  2. Driscoll, C. & Nowell, K. 2010. Felis silvestris. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 01 February 2012. [back]
Last Revised: 7/14/2012