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“Felidae” is the scientific name for the biological family whose most familiar member is the domestic cat. These highly evolved predators are as beautiful as they are cunning. Did you know that almost all members of this carnivorous family share a genetic anomaly that prevents them from tasting sweetness?

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They are all obligate carnivores – they don’t simply favor meat; they can’t subsist on anything else. Apart from lions, very few cats display any sort of strong social behavior, though some do hunt together or form loose colonies. Aha! So that’s where our kitties get their attitude from!

Something else you might not know is that while some felines are widely known (like lions, cougars, jaguars, etc.), there are actually 41 known cat species living today – and most of them are as beautiful as they are rare.

Sand Cat (Felis Margarita)

The sand cat (Felis margarita) is a small wild cat that inhabits sandy and stony deserts far from water sources. With its sandy to light grey fur, it is well camouflaged in a desert environment. Its head-and-body length ranges from 39–52 cm (15–20 in) with a 23–31 cm (9.1–12.2 in) long tail

Black-Footed Cat (Felis Nigripes)

The black-footed cat (Felis nigripes) is the smallest wild cat species in Africa, with a head-and-body length of 35-52 cm (14-20 in). Despite its name, only the soles of its feet are black or dark brown. The cat has a tawny fur covered with small dark spots and stripes, making it well camouflaged, especially on moonlit nights.

Pallas’s Cat (Otocolobus Manul)

The Pallas’s cat (Otocolobus manul), also known as the manul, is a small wild cat with long and dense light grey fur, and rounded ears set low on the sides of the head. Its head-and-body length ranges from 46 to 65 cm (18 to 26 in) with a 21 to 31 cm (8.3 to 12.2 in) long bushy tail.

Ocelot (Leopardus Pardalis)

The ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) is a medium-sized spotted wild cat that is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Margarita. The scientific name for the ocelot is Leopardus pardalis, which was proposed by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. The genus Leopardus was proposed by John Edward Gray in 1842 for several spotted cat skins in the collection of the Natural History Museum, London.

Asian Golden Cat (Catopuma Temminckii)

The Asian golden cat, also known as Catopuma temminckii, is a medium-sized wild cat found in the Oriental region and parts of the Palearctic region of southwestern Asia, ranging from China and India through the Malay peninsula, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Pampas Cat (Leopardus Pajeros)

The Pampas cat (Leopardus colocola) is a small wild cat native to South America. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List as habitat conversion and destruction may cause the population to decline in the future

Jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi)

The jaguarundi is a medium-sized wild cat native to the Americas, ranging from central Argentina in the south to northern Mexico, through Central and South America east of the Andes.

Andean Cat (Leopardus Jacobita)

The Andean mountain cat, also known as Leopardus jacobita, is a small wild cat native to the high Andes.

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Caracal (Caracal Caracal)

The caracal (Caracal caracal) (/ˈkærəkæl/) is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted ears, and long canine teeth.

Flat-Headed Cat (Felis Planiceps)

The flat-headed cat, also known as Prionailurus planiceps, is a small wild cat with short reddish-brown fur. Its head is elongated, and its ears are rounded. Its slender body is 41 to 50 cm long with a tail of 13 to 15 cm, and it weighs 1.5 to 2.5 kg. The scientific name Felis planiceps was proposed by Nicholas Aylward Vigors and Thomas Horsfield in 1827, and Prionailurus was proposed by Nikolai Severtzov in 1858 as a generic name for spotted wild cats native to Asia.

Bay Cat (Catopuma Badia)

The bay cat (Catopuma badia), also known as the Bornean bay cat, is a small wild cat endemic to the island of Borneo that appears to be relatively rare compared to sympatric wild cats, based on the paucity of historical, as well as recent records. Since 2002, it has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List because it is estimated that fewer than 2,500 mature individuals exist, and that the population declined in the past.

Fishing Cat (Prionailurus Viverrinus)

The fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) is a medium-sized wild cat of South and Southeast Asia. Since 2016, it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Fishing cat populations are threatened by destruction of wetlands and have declined severely over the last decade.

Chinese Mountain Cat (Felis Bieti)

The Chinese mountain cat (Felis bieti), also known as Chinese desert cat and Chinese steppe cat, is a small wild cat endemic to western China that has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2002, as there may be fewer than 10,000 breeding adults in the wild.

Leopard Cat (Prionailurus Bengalensis)

The leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) is a small wild cat native to continental South, Southeast, and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is widely distributed although threatened by habitat loss and hunting in parts of its range.

Margay Cat (Leopardus Wiedii)

Leopardus Wiedii, also known as the margay, is a small wild cat native to Central and South America. It is a solitary and nocturnal cat that lives mainly in primary evergreen and deciduous forest. The margay is very similar to the larger ocelot in appearance, although the head is a little shorter, the eyes larger, and the tail and legs longer.

Rusty Spotted Cat (Prionailurus Rubiginosus)

The Rusty-spotted cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus) is one of the smallest members of the cat family, found only in India and Sri Lanka. The species is estimated to have diverged from a common ancestor between 8.16 to 4.53 million years ago and 6.54 to 3.42 million years ago.

Wildcat (Felis Silvestris)

The European wildcat (Felis silvestris) is a small wildcat species native to continental Europe, Scotland, Turkey, and the Caucasus. It inhabits forests from the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, Central and Eastern Europe to the Caucasus. Its fur is brownish to grey with stripes on the forehead and on the sides and has a bushy tail with a black tip.

Clouded Leopard (Neofelis Nebulosa)

Neofelis nebulosa, also known as mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat that inhabits dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through Northeast India and Bhutan to mainland Southeast Asia into South China. It was first described in 1821 on the basis of a skin of an individual from China.

Canadian Lynx (Lynx Canadensis)

The Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) is a medium-sized boreal forest carnivore found in Alaska, Canada, and northern areas of the contiguous United States. It is characterized by its long, dense fur, triangular ears with black tufts at the tips, and broad, snowshoe-like paws.

Serval (Leptailurus Serval)

The Leptailurus serval is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, primarily found in southern Africa, particularly in Zimbabwe and the province of Natal. It is the sole member of the genus Leptailurus and has three recognized subspecies. The serval is characterized by a small head, large ears, a golden-yellow to buff coat spotted and striped with black, and a short, black-tipped tail.

Kodkod (Leopardus Guigna)

Leopardus guigna, also known as the Guia or Kodkod, is the smallest cat species in the Americas and among the smallest cat species in the world. It is a forest-dependent cat species found primarily in central and southern Chile, as well as marginally in adjoining areas of Argentina.

Source:

Anduin at boredpanda

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