Research overview: the Felis lineage and the wildcat complex

The Felis lineage contains the domestic cat and its closest wild relatives, including the European wildcat, the African and Near Eastern wildcat, the sand cat, the jungle cat, the black-footed cat, and the Chinese mountain cat. This overview surveys the genetic relationships within this group, the subspecies structure of the wildcat complex, and the evidence that the domestic cat derives specifically from the Near Eastern wildcat. It discusses ongoing hybridization between domestic cats and wild Felis species, the conservation genetics of small desert and grassland cats, and how this lineage anchors our understanding of cat domestication and small-cat evolution.