Felidae is a family of mammals in the order Carnivora, colloquially referred to as cats. A member of this family is called a felid.[1][2] The term "cat" refers both to felids in general and specifically to domestic cats. The characteristic features of cats have evolved to support a carnivorous lifestyle, with adaptations for ambush or stalking and short pursuit hunting. They have slender muscular bodies, strong flexible forelimbs and retractable claws for holding prey, dental and cranial adaptations for a strong bite, and often have characteristic striped or spotted coat patterns for camouflage.[3][4]
Felidae comprises two extant subfamilies, the Pantherinae and the Felinae. The former includes the five Panthera species tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard, as well as the two Neofelis species clouded leopard and Sunda clouded leopard.[2] The subfamily Felinae includes 12 genera and 34 species, such as the bobcat, caracal, cheetah, cougar, ocelot, and common domestic cat.[5]
Traditionally, five subfamilies have been distinguished within the Felidae based on phenotypical features: the Felinae, the Pantherinae, the Acinonychinae (cheetahs), the extinct Machairodontinae, and the extinct Proailurinae.[6] Molecular phylogenetic analysis suggests that living (extant) felids fall into eight lineages (clades).[7][8] The placement of the cheetah within the Puma lineage invalidates the traditional subfamily Acinonychinae, and recent sources use only two subfamilies for extant genera.[5] The number of accepted species in Felidae has been around 40 since the 18th century, though research, especially modern molecular phylogenetic analysis, has over time adjusted the generally accepted genera as well as the divisions between recognized subspecies, species, and population groups.[9] In addition to the extant species listed here, over 30 fossil genera have been described; these are divided into the subfamilies Felinae, Pantherinae, Proailurinae, and Machairodontinae. This final subfamily includes the genus Smilodon, known as the saber-toothed cat, which went extinct around 10,000 years ago. The earliest known felid genus is Proailurus, part of Proailurinae, which lived approximately 25 million years ago in Eurasia.[10]
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of mammals in the order Carnivora, colloquially referred to as cats. A member of this family is called a felid. The term "cat" refers both to felids in...
presence of a tapetum lucidum, which reflects light inside the eyeball, and gives felid eyes their distinctive shine. As a result, the eyes offelids are about...
listof largest cats shows the 10 largest extant Felidae species, ordered by maximum reported weight and size of wild individuals on record. The list...
felid hybrid is any of a number of hybrids between various species of the cat family, Felidae. This article deals with hybrids between the species of...
Felinae: The phylogenetic relationships of Felinae are shown in the following cladogram: Cats portal Listoffelids Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Felinae"....
This listof fictional big cats is subsidiary to the Listof fictional cats and other felines and includes notable large feline characters that appear...
classification. Big cat Listoffelids Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Pantherinae". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic...
large felids such as lions and tigers, see Listof fictional big cats. This section deals with notable cat characters that appear in literature works of fiction...
usually larger and have a more sensitive smell than normal dogs. For a listof breeds of each type, see the detailed articles for each category: Wolf hunt...
Eizirik, Eduardo (19 February 2015). "Recurrent Evolution of Melanism in South American Felids". PLOS Genetics. 10 (2): e1004892. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen...
is an upper respiratory or pulmonary infection of cats caused by Felid alphaherpesvirus 1 (FeHV-1), of the family Herpesviridae. It is also commonly referred...
Smilodon is a genus offelids belonging to the extinct subfamily Machairodontinae. It is one of the best known saber-toothed predators and prehistoric...
are of limited mobility. Hyenas have no baculum. Hyenas have one more pair of ribs than canids do, and their tongues are rough like those offelids and...
effect on the small-felid guild in the lowland neotropics". In Macdonald, D. & Loveridge, A. (eds.). Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids. New York: Oxford...
include families such as the felids or "cats" (both great cats and lesser cats), hyenas, mongooses and civets. The majority of feliform species are found...
an introduction to the wild felids". In Macdonald, D. W. & Loveridge, A. J. (eds.). Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids. Oxford, UK: Oxford University...
"Conservation genetics and molecular ecology of Neotropical felids". In Hughes, J. & Mercer, R. (eds.). Felid Biology and Conservation Conference 17–19 September...
"Phylogeny and evolution of cats (Felidae)". In Macdonald, D. W. & Loveridge, A. J. (eds.). Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids. Oxford, UK: Oxford University...
that contains all the species of a particular group offelids, but as a general term "panther" is also used for other felids, more commonly for melanistic...
Yamaguchi, N. (2010). "Felid form and function" (PDF). In Macdonald, D. W. & Loveridge, A. J. (eds.). Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids. Oxford: Oxford...
cat (Catopuma temminckii) and the bay cat (C. badia), all of which diverged from other felids about 9.4 million years ago. The marbled cat is similar in...
"Late Pleistocene and Holocene development of the felid fauna (Felidae) of Europe: a review". Journal of Zoology. 269: 7–19. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998...
other Pleistocene felids from the submerged caves of Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico". Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology. 32 (7):...
roundworm, is a parasite of cats and other felids. It is one of the most common nematodes of cats, infecting both wild and domestic felids worldwide. Adult worms...
"Phylogeny and evolution of cats (Felidae)". In Macdonald, D. W. & Loveridge, A. J. (eds.). Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids. Oxford, UK: Oxford University...
as some level of threatened by the IUCN Red List: the lion, leopard and snow leopard are categorized as Vulnerable; the tiger is listed as Endangered;...
the third-highest bite force of all felids, after the tiger and the lion. It has an average bite force at the canine tip of 887.0 Newton and a bite force...