Small Wild Cats Biological Classification

Classifying small wild cats

All wild cats—both big and small—belong to the order Carnivora (meat-eaters), the suborder Feliformia, and the family Felidae. It is believed the Felidae diverged (separated) from the Feliformia suborder between 25 and 35 million years ago, and the Felinae and Pantherinae split around 11.5 million years ago.

The Pantherinae subfamily includes big cats like the lion, tiger, jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard. Two medium-sized cats, the clouded and the Sunda clouded leopard, also belong to the Pantherinae subfamily.

The remaining medium-sized and small wild cats are members of the Felinae subfamily.

According to various researchers, the first cats—the Proailurus and Pseudaelurus—appeared around 25 million years ago.

The Proailurus inhabited Europe and Asia between 25 and 30 million years ago. It was somewhat bigger than the domestic cat. Physical characteristics included a long tail, big eyes, sharp teeth and claws, and a weight of around 20 lbs.

The Pseudaelurus, which was the size of a cougar, lived in Asia, North America, and Europe between 8 and 20 million years ago. It was the first cat to appear in North America around 18.5 million years ago. There were various Pseudaelurus species.

Migration

The history of modern cats began long ago in Asia with a common ancestor (Pseudaelurus). Eventually, the cats migrated to other parts of the world. The migrations occurred during various ice ages when sea levels declined, and land bridges appeared connecting different continents. The drop in sea levels was due to the large amount of seawater that evaporated and turned into snow and ice.

One of the most famous land bridges was the Bering land bridge. It existed 20,000 years ago, and connected eastern Russia to Alaska.

Common Felidae (cat family) characteristics

Both big cats and small wild cats have many similar characteristics, including:

• Five toes on their front feet and four on their back feet.
• Pads on both front and back feet that act like cushions
• Flexible and muscular bodies
• 30 teeth
• Tongues covered with tiny bumps that give it a rough texture
• Noses that extend beyond the jaw
• Relatively large eyes with binocular vision (two eyes facing the same direction) and excellent night vision
• Stiff hair (whiskers) on the cheeks, above the muzzle and eyes
• Large, sensitive ears
• A sense organ in the roof (soft tissue) of their mouth that allows them to detect chemicals (taste the air).

The Pantherinae and Felinae subfamilies

The cat family, Felidae, is divided into two main groups: Pantherinae and Felinae. Pantherinae includes the large cats such as lions, tigers, leopards, and jaguars, along with closely related species like the snow leopard and clouded leopards. These cats are generally larger and adapted to hunting bigger prey. Felinae includes all of the smaller and medium-sized wild cats, such as lynx, caracals, ocelots, and domestic cats. This group contains most of the world’s wild cat species and shows a wide range of sizes, habitats, and behaviors.

Within the Felinae subfamily, there are 12 genera—groups of closely related species that share common characteristics:

• Pardofelis
• Catopuma
• Leopardus
• Leptailurus
• Caracal
• Lynx
• Acinonyx
• Herpailurus
• Puma
• Otocolobus
• Prionailurus
• Felis

There are one or more species of cat in each genus.

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“Most living felids belong to the subfamily Felinae, which includes the majority of small and medium-sized cat species.” –  Source: Smithsonian Institution / Kitchener et al., 2017 (Revised taxonomy of the Felidae)

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The eight wild cat lineages

Following new DNA research conducted in 2006, and the use of other essential research tools, the various Felidae species were divided into eight lineages. Each group came from a common ancestor and shared similar morphological (form and structure), biological and physiological characteristics.

Here are the eight lineages:

• Panthera
• Caracal
• Ocelot
• Bay cat
• Lynx
• Puma
• Leopard cat
• Domestic cat

Members of the Panthera lineage include the large cats such as lions, tigers, leopards, and jaguars, along with closely related species like the clouded leopards.

The remaining lineages are made up of medium-sized and small wild cats.

The first three lineages to appear were the Panthera lineage, Bay cat lineage and Caracal lineage.

Lineages with small and medium-sized cats

Seven of the eight wild cat lineages include small and medium-sized cats. 

Lynx lineage

Genus: Lynx

Species: Bobcat, Canada lynx, Eurasian lynx and Iberian lynx.

The lynx lineage includes four medium-sized wild cats: the bobcat, Canada lynx, Eurasian lynx, and Iberian lynx. The lineage appeared around 7.2 million years ago and evolved in Europe and Africa. The Eurasian lynx is the largest of the four lynx species.

Leopard cat lineage

Genus: Otocolbus, Prionailurus

Species: Pallas’s cat, rusty-spotted cat, flat-headed cat, leopard cat, Sunda leopard cat, fishing cat

Members of the Leopard cat lineage are Asian wild cats. They include one species from the genus Otocolobus (Pallas’s cat) and five species from the genus Prionailurus. The fishing cat is a medium-sized wild cat. The lineage appeared approximately 6.2 million years ago when ancestors migrated back from North America to Asia.

Domestic cat lineage

Genus: Felis

Species: Jungle cat, black-footed cat, sand cat, Chinese mountain cat, African wildcat, European wildcat, domestic cat

Location: Felis wild cats inhabit Africa, Europe, Asia, and Indochina, while domestic cats can be found worldwide.

Members of the Felis genus are small and medium-sized cats. The Felis genus diverged from the Felidae between 1 and 3 million years ago.

From forests and deserts to mountains and grasslands, smaller and medium-sized cats have found ways to survive in a wide range of environments. While they may not have the size or power of the big cats, they play an important role on the planet.