Prionailurus is a genus of spotted, small wild cats native to Asia.[2][3] Forests are their preferred habitat; they feed on small mammals, reptiles and birds, and occasionally aquatic wildlife.[4]
The British zoologist Reginald Innes Pocock recognized the taxonomic classificationofPrionailurus in 1917. In 1939, he described the genus on the basis of skins and skulls, and compared these to body parts of Felis. Prionailurus species are marked with spots, which are frequently lanceolate, sometimes rosette-like, and occasionally tend to run into longitudinal chains, but never fuse to form vertical stripes as in Felis. Skulls of Prionailurus are lower and less vaulted than of Felis. The facial part is shorter than the cranial, and the bottom of the orbit longer. The nasal bones are not everted above the anterior nares, and the outer chamber of the bulla is much smaller than the inner. Pocock classified the leopard cat, rusty-spotted cat and fishing cat as belonging to the genus Prionailurus.[2]
Pocock's classification of Prionailurus has been widely accepted, with five species now recognised:[6]
Molecular analysis of leopard cat populations indicates a clear distinction between northern populations from Tsushima, Korea, Siberia, China and Taiwan and Southeast Asian populations. If these genetic differences indicate a specific distinction, P. b. euptilurus may yet be a valid species.[12]
The Iriomote cat (P. bengalensis iriomotensis) has been proposed as a distinct species based on morphology, but is considered a subspeciesofP. bengalensis based on genetic analysis.[13]
^ abPocock, R. I. (1939). "Genus Prionailurus Severtzow". The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Mammalia. – Volume 1. London: Taylor and Francis. pp. 265–284.
^Kitchener, A. C.; Breitenmoser-Würsten, C.; Eizirik, E.; Gentry, A.; Werdelin, L.; Wilting, A.; Yamaguchi, N.; Abramov, A. V.; Christiansen, P.; Driscoll, C.; Duckworth, J. W.; Johnson, W.; Luo, S.-J.; Meijaard, E.; O’Donoghue, P.; Sanderson, J.; Seymour, K.; Bruford, M.; Groves, C.; Hoffmann, M.; Nowell, K.; Timmons, Z. & Tobe, S. (2017). "A revised taxonomy of the Felidae: The final report of the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group"(PDF). Cat News (Special Issue 11): 23–29.
^Kerr, R. (1792). "Bengal Tiger-Cat Felis bengalensis". The Animal Kingdom or zoological system of the celebrated Sir Charles Linnaeus. Class I. Mammalia. Edinburgh & London: A. Strahan & T. Cadell. pp. 151–152.
^Desmarest, A. G. (1816). "Le Chat de Java, Felis javanensis Nob.". In Société de naturalistes et d'agriculteurs (ed.). Nouveau dictionnaire d'histoire naturelle, appliquée aux arts, à l'agriculture, à l'économie rurale et domestique, à la médecine. Tome 6. Paris: Chez Deterville. p. 115.
^Bennett, E. T. (1833). "Felis viverrinus". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. Part I: 68–69.
^Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, I. (1831). "Le Chat à Taches de Rouille, Felis rubiginosa (Nob.)l". In Bélanger, C.; Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, I. (eds.). Voyage aux Indes-Orientales par le nord de l'Europe, les provinces du Caucases, la Géorgie, l'Arménie et la Perse, suivi des détails topographiques, statistiques et autre sur le Pégou, les Iles de Jave, de Maurice et de Bourbon, sur le Cap-de-bonne-Espérance et Sainte-Hélène, pendant les années 1825, 1826, 1827, 1828 et 1829. Tome 3: Zoologie. Paris: Arthus Bertrand. pp. 140−144.
^Tamada, T. Siriaroonrat; B. Subramaniam, V.; Hamachi, M.; Lin, L.-K.; Oshida, T.; Rerkamnuaychoke, W.; Masuda, R. (2006). "Molecular Diversity and Phylogeography of the Asian Leopard Cat, Felis bengalensis, Inferred from Mitochondrial and Y-Chromosomal DNA Sequences". Zoological Science. 25 (2): 154–163. CiteSeerX10.1.1.332.7592. doi:10.2108/zsj.25.154. PMID18533746. S2CID16057327.
^ abWerdelin, L.; Yamaguchi, N.; Johnson, W. E. & O'Brien, S. J. (2010). "Phylogeny and evolution of cats (Felidae)". In Macdonald, D. W. & Loveridge, A. J. (eds.). Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp. 59–82. ISBN978-0-19-923445-5.
