Post by diane9247 on Apr 1, 2015 0:34:38 GMT
Meet your cat's ancestor, Felis silvestris lybica.
The African Wildcat is slightly larger than the domestic variety, though there are regional differences in size and appearance due to their superb adaptability to different environments. The African Wildcat has an enormous range across North and East Africa, the coastal margin of the Arabian Peninsula, through Iran, around and beyond the Caspian Sea. Its adaptability earns it a designation as a Least Concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The African Wildcat is, however, threatened by genetic dilution from breeding with domestic cats. Felis silvestris and its subspecies, of which lybica is one, is genetically distinct from the domestic cat even though they resemble them in appearance. It is thought that there are few pure-bred African Wildcats in some regions of its range, and this is being studied. The wild cat looks much like a domestic striped tabby, but the coat is predominantly sand or reddish color and it has sparse stripes. The tabby's trademark forehead M pattern is either not seen or is faint. This is variable, presumably depending upon whether domestic genetic influence is present. The African Wild Cat is protected against hunting in Algeria, Israel, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, and Tunsia.
[Source]
Felis silvestris lybica is directly descended from the original European wildcat, Felis lunensis, thanks to a migration the reverse of that of h o m o sapiens. Wildcat fossil remains are common in cave deposits dating from the last ice age and the Holocene. The European wildcat first appeared in its current form 2 million years ago and reached the British Isles from mainland Europe 9000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age. During the Late Pleistocene (possibly 50,000 years ago), the wildcat migrated from Europe into the Middle East, giving rise to the steppe wildcat phenotype. Within possibly 10,000 years, the steppe wildcat spread eastwards into Asia and southwards to Africa.
Johann von Schreber named the wildcat of Europe Felis silvestris in 1775. The other wildcat variants were subsequently designated F. lybica in Africa, F. ornata in India, F. caudatus in Russia, F. ocreata in Ethiopia, as well as many others. In 1951, taxonomist Reginald Pocock declared that lybica, ocreata, and the other wildcat variants were merely subspecies of Schreber's F. silvestris. He listed 40 subspecies, but this was later reduced to 21. [Source]
David Bygott by permission, seen in the wild in Kenya.
Sonelle @ Wikimedia Commons
Click the link below to see an overlay on Google Earth, made with a map from Carnivora (via Wikimedia), showing ranges for the African Wildcat (in bright pink) and the other Felis silvestris subspecies. It is notable how the range of the European wildcat (sylvestris sylvestris) has shrunk quite drastically.
African wildcat range.kmz (29.1 KB)
Your
The African Wildcat is slightly larger than the domestic variety, though there are regional differences in size and appearance due to their superb adaptability to different environments. The African Wildcat has an enormous range across North and East Africa, the coastal margin of the Arabian Peninsula, through Iran, around and beyond the Caspian Sea. Its adaptability earns it a designation as a Least Concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The African Wildcat is, however, threatened by genetic dilution from breeding with domestic cats. Felis silvestris and its subspecies, of which lybica is one, is genetically distinct from the domestic cat even though they resemble them in appearance. It is thought that there are few pure-bred African Wildcats in some regions of its range, and this is being studied. The wild cat looks much like a domestic striped tabby, but the coat is predominantly sand or reddish color and it has sparse stripes. The tabby's trademark forehead M pattern is either not seen or is faint. This is variable, presumably depending upon whether domestic genetic influence is present. The African Wild Cat is protected against hunting in Algeria, Israel, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, and Tunsia.
[Source]
Felis silvestris lybica is directly descended from the original European wildcat, Felis lunensis, thanks to a migration the reverse of that of h o m o sapiens. Wildcat fossil remains are common in cave deposits dating from the last ice age and the Holocene. The European wildcat first appeared in its current form 2 million years ago and reached the British Isles from mainland Europe 9000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age. During the Late Pleistocene (possibly 50,000 years ago), the wildcat migrated from Europe into the Middle East, giving rise to the steppe wildcat phenotype. Within possibly 10,000 years, the steppe wildcat spread eastwards into Asia and southwards to Africa.
Johann von Schreber named the wildcat of Europe Felis silvestris in 1775. The other wildcat variants were subsequently designated F. lybica in Africa, F. ornata in India, F. caudatus in Russia, F. ocreata in Ethiopia, as well as many others. In 1951, taxonomist Reginald Pocock declared that lybica, ocreata, and the other wildcat variants were merely subspecies of Schreber's F. silvestris. He listed 40 subspecies, but this was later reduced to 21. [Source]
David Bygott by permission, seen in the wild in Kenya.
Sonelle @ Wikimedia Commons
Click the link below to see an overlay on Google Earth, made with a map from Carnivora (via Wikimedia), showing ranges for the African Wildcat (in bright pink) and the other Felis silvestris subspecies. It is notable how the range of the European wildcat (sylvestris sylvestris) has shrunk quite drastically.
African wildcat range.kmz (29.1 KB)
Your
