🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries

The Amur leopard of the Russian Far East and northeast China is one of the rarest cats on Earth and a clearly recognized subspecies, Panthera pardus orientalis. This overview reviews the genetic and m…

The Andean mountain cat, Leopardus jacobita, is a rare, high-altitude felid of the Andes and one of the least known cats in the Americas. This overview examines its taxonomic placement within the ocel…

The critically endangered Arabian leopard, Panthera pardus nimr, is the smallest leopard subspecies and survives in tiny, fragmented populations on the Arabian Peninsula. This overview examines its ta…

The Javan leopard, Panthera pardus melas, is an isolated and threatened population restricted to the island of Java, frequently melanistic. This overview reviews evidence for its status as a distinct…

The pampas cat, Leopardus colocola, shows dramatic variation in coat color and pattern across its wide South American range, fueling long debate over whether it is one variable species or several. Thi…

The Persian or Caucasian leopard, the largest leopard subspecies, ranges across the Caucasus, Iran, and Central Asia and is recognized as Panthera pardus tulliana following nomenclatural review. This…

The Tsushima cat, restricted to Tsushima Island between Japan and Korea, is a critically endangered population of the leopard cat. This overview examines its taxonomic status, established by molecular…

Most cats share a conserved chromosome number, but the ocelot lineage is distinguished by a reduced karyotype resulting from a chromosomal fusion. This overview explains how Leopardus species carry 36…

Molecular phylogenetics partitions all living cats into eight monophyletic lineages, a framework that now organizes felid taxonomy. This overview names and characterizes them: the Panthera lineage (bi…

The genus Prionailurus includes not only leopard cats but also the fishing cat and flat-headed cat, specialized wetland felids. This overview examines their placement within the leopard cat lineage an…

The jaguar, the only Panthera species in the Americas, occupies an informative position in big cat phylogeny. This overview explains how molecular data place the jaguar within the genus Panthera, clos…

The leopard cat is the most widespread small cat in Asia, occupying habitats from Siberian forests to tropical islands, and its broad range produces extensive geographic variation. This overview surve…

The perennial tension between lumpers, who favor fewer broad taxa, and splitters, who recognize many fine ones, is sharply visible in cat classification. This overview examines how the debate plays ou…

The marbled cat, Pardofelis marmorata, is a small, arboreal Southeast Asian felid whose clouded-leopard-like coat once suggested a relationship to the big cats. This overview explains how molecular ph…

Leopards once carried more than two dozen named subspecies, but molecular work collapsed this to roughly eight or nine. This overview lists the currently recognized subspecies: the African leopard, pl…

The ocelot lineage comprises the small spotted cats of the Americas, nearly all placed in the genus Leopardus, and represents a relatively recent and rapid radiation. This overview surveys the group,…

The snow leopard's relationships within the big cats were long uncertain, with some classifications isolating it in its own genus, Uncia. This overview explains how molecular phylogenetics resolved it…

Clouded leopards occupy a pivotal position as the sister group to the other big cats within the subfamily Pantherinae. This overview explains how molecular phylogenies consistently place the genus Neo…

The rusty-spotted cat, one of the smallest of all cats, is found in India and Sri Lanka and belongs to the leopard cat lineage. This overview reviews its placement within the genus Prionailurus, where…

This overview explains the reasoning the Cat Classification Task Force used to justify a major revision rather than incremental edits. It describes the decision rules adopted: recognize taxa only when…

The Iriomote cat is a celebrated example of taxonomic demotion in cats. This overview traces how a felid first hailed as a unique living fossil in its own genus was, through molecular evidence, shown…

Sequencing the snow leopard genome alongside those of the tiger and lion advanced both big cat phylogenetics and the study of high-altitude adaptation. This overview surveys how the snow leopard genom…

The recognition of the southern tigrina, Leopardus guttulus, as a species distinct from the northern tigrina, Leopardus tigrinus, is a notable recent split among Neotropical cats. This overview review…

One of the clearest recent felid species splits separated the clouded leopard into two species. This overview explains how parallel molecular and morphological studies in 2006 revealed that clouded le…

Molecular phylogeography revealed that leopard cats on the Sunda islands of Southeast Asia diverge deeply from mainland leopard cats, leading to recognition of a separate species, the Sunda leopard ca…

Subspecies inflation, the naming of many weakly supported geographic forms, has long plagued large carnivore taxonomy and complicates conservation. This overview explains how cats accumulated dozens o…

Modern classifications divide living cats into two subfamilies: Pantherinae (the roaring and big cats plus clouded leopards) and Felinae (most small and medium cats). This overview explains how that s…

Few felid groups have generated as much naming confusion as the small spotted tiger cats of South America, variously called oncilla, tigrina, or tiger cat. This overview traces the tangled taxonomy, f…

Cat classification is not merely academic; it directly shapes how cats are protected. This overview explains how taxonomy underlies Red List assessments, CITES appendices, and national legislation, al…

Black panthers are melanistic leopards (or jaguars), and their existence is often misunderstood as indicating a separate species or subspecies. This overview explains the genetics of leopard melanism,…