Pardofelis
Encyclopedia
Pardofelis was first proposed by the Russian explorer and naturalist Nikolai Severtzov in 1858 as generic name comprising a single felid
species occurring in tropical Asia
, the marbled cat Pardofelis marmorata.
The British zoologist Reginald Innes Pocock
recognized the taxonomic classification of Pardofelis in 1917 as comprising Pardofelis marmorata and Pardofelis badia. He suggested the kinship of the two species is indicated by cranial characters. In 1939, he described Pardofelis marmorata on the basis of skins and skulls, which originated in Java, Sumatra
, Darjeeling and Sikkim
.
Until 2006, the classification of Pardofelis as a monotypic genus was widely accepted.
Genetic analysis
carried out at the turn of the century revealed a close genetic relationship with the Borneo bay cat Pardofelis badia and the Asian golden cat Pardofelis temminckii. All of them diverged from the other felids about 9.4 million years ago, and have therefore been proposed to be placed in the genus Pardofelis. This taxonomic re-classification has meanwhile been accepted by members of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group.
Felidae
Felidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid. Felids are the strictest carnivores of the thirteen terrestrial families in the order Carnivora, although the three families of marine mammals comprising the superfamily pinnipedia are as carnivorous as the...
species occurring in tropical Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, the marbled cat Pardofelis marmorata.
The British zoologist Reginald Innes Pocock
Reginald Innes Pocock
Reginald Innes Pocock F.R.S. was a British zoologist.Pocock was born in Clifton, Bristol, the fourth son of Rev. Nicholas Pocock and Edith Prichard. He began showing interest in natural history at St. Edward's School, Oxford. He received tutoring in zoology from Sir Edward Poulton, and was allowed...
recognized the taxonomic classification of Pardofelis in 1917 as comprising Pardofelis marmorata and Pardofelis badia. He suggested the kinship of the two species is indicated by cranial characters. In 1939, he described Pardofelis marmorata on the basis of skins and skulls, which originated in Java, Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
, Darjeeling and Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...
.
Until 2006, the classification of Pardofelis as a monotypic genus was widely accepted.
Genetic analysis
Genetic analysis
Genetic analysis can be used generally to describe methods both used in and resulting from the sciences of genetics and molecular biology, or to applications resulting from this research....
carried out at the turn of the century revealed a close genetic relationship with the Borneo bay cat Pardofelis badia and the Asian golden cat Pardofelis temminckii. All of them diverged from the other felids about 9.4 million years ago, and have therefore been proposed to be placed in the genus Pardofelis. This taxonomic re-classification has meanwhile been accepted by members of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group.