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Felis
Felis is a genus of small and medium-sized cat species
native to most of Africa and south of 60° latitude in Felis
Europe and Asia to Indochina. The genus includes the Temporal range: Piacenzian – Holocene
domestic cat. The smallest Felis species is the black-
footed cat with a head and body length from 38 to 42 cm
(15 to 17 in). The largest is the jungle cat with a head and
body length from 62 to 76 cm (24 to 30 in).[1]

Genetic studies indicate that the Felinae genera Felis,

Otocolobus and Prionailurus diverged from a Eurasian
progenitor of the Felidae about 6.2 million years ago, and
that Felis species split off 3.04 to 0.99 million years
ago.[2][3]

Etymology
The generic name Felis is derived from Classical Latin
fēlis meaning "cat, ferret".[4]

Taxonomy
The six wild Felis species; from top-left,
Carl Linnaeus considered Felis to comprise all cat species
clockwise: European wildcat (F.
known until 1758.[5] Later taxonomists split the cat family
into different genera. In 1917, the British zoologist silvestris), jungle cat (F. chaus), African
Reginald Innes Pocock revised the genus Felis as wildcat (F. lybica), black-footed cat (F.
comprising only the ones listed in the following table.[1] nigripes), sand cat (F. margarita),
Estimated genetic divergence times of the listed species
Chinese mountain cat (F. bieti)
are indicated in million years ago (Mya), based on
analysis of autosomal, xDNA, yDNA and mtDNA gene Scientific classification
segments.[2]
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Felinae
Genus: Felis
Linnaeus, 1758

Type species
Felis catus

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Linnaeus, 1758

Species

see #Taxonomy

Native Felis range

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IUCN Red List status and

Species Image
distribution

Domestic cat (F. catus) Linnaeus, NE

1758[5] Worldwide in association with humans
or feral[6]

European wildcat (F. silvestris) LC[8]

[7]
Schreber, 1777

diverged 1.62 to 0.59 Mya

Jungle cat (F. chaus) Schreber, LC[10]

[9]
1777

diverged 4.88 to 2.41 Mya

African wildcat (F. lybica) Forster, LC[12]

[11]
1780

diverged 1.86 to 0.72 Mya

Black-footed cat (F. nigripes) VU [14]

Burchell, 1824 [13]

diverged 4.44 to 2.16 Mya

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Sand cat (F. margarita) Loche, LC[16]

[15]
1858

diverged 3.67 to 1.72 Mya

Chinese mountain cat (F. bieti) VU [18]

Milne-Edwards, 1892 [17]

diverged 1.86 to 0.72 Mya

Pocock accepted the Pallas's cat as the only member of the genus Otocolobus.[1] Other scientists
consider it also a Felis species.[19]

Several scientists consider the Chinese mountain cat a subspecies of F. silvestris.[20]

Phylogeny

The phylogenetic relationships of living Felis species are shown in the following cladogram:[2]

⁠Felidae  ⁠ Felinae ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ Felis ⁠ ⁠ ⁠

⁠
Domestic cat (F. catus)
⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠
European wildcat (F. silvestris)
⁠
⁠
⁠⁠
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⁠
⁠ ⁠African wildcat (F. lybica)

⁠ ⁠
⁠
⁠ ⁠ ⁠Chinese mountain cat (F. bieti)

⁠ ⁠⁠
⁠
⁠ ⁠Sand cat (F. margarita)
⁠
⁠
Black-footed cat (F. nigripes)

⁠
Jungle cat (F. chaus)
⁠

⁠
other Felinae lineages
⁠

⁠
⁠ Pantherinae

Fossil Felis species

Fossil Felis species include:

Felis lunensis (Martelli, 1906)[21]

Characteristics
Felis species have high and wide skulls, short jaws and narrow ears with short tufts, but without
any white spots on the back of the ears. Their pupils contract to a vertical slit.[1] A black cat from
Transcaucasia described in 1904 as F. daemon by Satunin[22] turned out to be a feral cat, probably
a hybrid of wildcat and domestic cat.[23] The Kellas cat is a hybrid between domestic cat and
European wildcat occurring in Scotland.[24]

The Corsican wildcat is considered to have been introduced to Corsica before the beginning of the
1st millennium.[25][26] A genetic study of a dozen individuals showed that they are closely related
to the African wildcat originating in the Middle East.[27]

References
1. Pocock, R. I. (1951). Catalogue of the genus Felis (https://archive.org/stream/catalogueofgenu
s00brit#page/n6/mode/1up). London: British Museum (Natural History).
2. Johnson, W. E.; Eizirik, E.; Pecon-Slattery, J.; Murphy, W. J.; Antunes, A.; Teeling, E. & O'Brien,
S. J. (2006). "The Late Miocene Radiation of Modern Felidae: A Genetic Assessment" (https://z
enodo.org/record/1230866). Science. 311 (5757): 73–77. Bibcode:2006Sci...311...73J (https://u
i.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006Sci...311...73J). doi:10.1126/science.1122277 (https://doi.org/1
0.1126%2Fscience.1122277). PMID 16400146 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16400146).
S2CID 41672825 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:41672825).
3. Pecon-Slattery, J. & O'Brien, S. J. (1998). "Patterns of Y and X chromosome DNA sequence
divergence during the Felidae radiation" (http://www.genetics.org/cgi/content/full/148/3/1245).
Genetics. 148 (3): 1245–1255. doi:10.1093/genetics/148.3.1245 (https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fge
netics%2F148.3.1245). PMC 1460026 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC146002
6). PMID 9539439 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9539439).

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4. Valpy, F. E. J. (1828). "Felis" (https://archive.org/stream/anetymologicald00valpgoog#page/n17

8/mode/2up). An Etymological Dictionary of the Latin Language. London: A. J. Valpy.
5. Linnaeus, C. (1758). "Felis" (https://archive.org/details/mobot31753000798865/page/42).
Systema naturae per regna tria naturae: secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum
characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1 (Tenth reformed ed.). Holmiae:
Laurentii Salvii. pp. 42–44.
6. Clutton-Brock, J. (1999) [1987]. "Cats" (https://books.google.com/books?id=cgL-EbbB8a0C&p
g=PA133). A Natural History of Domesticated Mammals (Second ed.). Cambridge, England:
Cambridge University Press. pp. 133–140. ISBN 978-0-521-63495-3. OCLC 39786571 (https://
www.worldcat.org/oclc/39786571).
7. Schreber, J. C. D. (1778). "Die wilde Kaze" (http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/schreber1875t
extbd3/0095?page_query=397&navmode=struct&action=pagesearch&sid=cc4bffe3d0372c2d2
c5c1ddb03aed21d) [The wild Cat]. Die Säugthiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur mit
Beschreibungen (Dritter Theil). Erlangen: Expedition des Schreber'schen Säugthier- und des
Esper'schen Schmetterlingswerkes. pp. 397–402.
8. Yamaguchi, N.; Kitchener, A.; Driscoll, C. & Nussberger, B. (2015). "Felis silvestris" (https://ww
w.iucnredlist.org/species/60354712/50652361). IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015:
e.T60354712A50652361. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
9. Schreber, J. C. D. (1778). "Der Kirmyschak" (https://archive.org/stream/SaYugthiereAbbiIIISchr
#page/414/mode/2up). Die Säugethiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur, mit Beschreibungen.
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10. Gray, T. N. E.; Timmins, R. J.; Jathana, D.; Duckworth, J. W.; Baral, H. & Mukherjee, S. (2016).
"Felis chaus" (https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/8540/50651463). IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species. 2016: e.T8540A50651463.
11. Forster, G. R. (1780). "LIII. Der Karakal" (https://books.google.com/books?id=qohRAAAAYAAJ
&pg=SL26-PA13). Herrn von Büffons Naturgeschichte der vierfüssigen Thiere. Mit
Vermehrungen, aus dem Französischen übersetzt. Sechster Band [Mr. von Büffon‘s Natural
History of Quadrupeds. With additions, translated from French. Volume 6]. Berlin: Joachim
Pauli. pp. 299–319.
12. Ghoddousi, A.; Belbachir, F.; Durant, S.M.; Herbst, M. & Rosen, T. (2022). "Felis lybica" (https://
www.iucnredlist.org/species/131299383/154907281). IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
2022: e.T131299383A154907281.
13. Burchell, W. J. (1824). "Felis nigripes" (https://books.google.com/books?id=AGpdAAAAcAAJ&
pg=PA592). Travels in the Interior of Southern Africa, Vol. II. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees,
Orme, Brown, and Green. p. 592.
14. Sliwa, A.; Wilson, B.; Küsters, M. & Tordiffe, A. (2016). "Felis nigripes" (https://www.iucnredlist.o
rg/species/8542/50652196). IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T8542A50652196.
15. Loche, V. (1858). "Description d'une nouvelle espèce de Chat par M. le capitaine Loche" (http
s://archive.org/stream/revueetmagasinde10soci#page/49/mode/1up) [Description of a new
species of cat, Mr. Captain Loche]. Revue et Magasin de Zoologie Pure et Appliquée. 2. X: 49–
50.
16. Sliwa, A.; Ghadirian, T.; Appel, A.; Banfield, L.; Sher Shah, M. & Wacher, T. (2016). "Felis
margarita" (https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/8541/50651884). IUCN Red List of Threatened
Species. 2016: e.T8541A50651884. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
17. Milne-Edwards, A. (1892). "Observations sur les mammifères du Thibet" (https://archive.org/str
eam/bulletinbiologiq03univ#page/670/mode/2up). Revue Générale des Sciences Pures et
Appliquées. III: 670–671.
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cnredlist.org/species/8539/50651398). IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015:
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W. (2007). "The Near Eastern Origin of Cat Domestication" (http://www.mobot.org/plantscienc
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External links
Media related to Felis at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Felis at Wikispecies
Ernest Ingersoll (1920). "Cat"  (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Encyclopedia_Americana_(1
920)/Cat). Encyclopedia Americana.

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