| There is no RationalWiki without you. We are a small non-profit with no staff – we are hundreds of volunteers who document pseudoscience and crankery around the world every day. We will never allow ads because we must remain independent. We cannot rely on big donors with corresponding big agendas. We are not the largest website around, but we believe we play an important role in defending truth and objectivity. If everyone seeing this today donates $5, we will meet our goal for 2019. |
Fighting pseudoscience isn't free. We are 100% user-supported! Help and donate $5, $20 or whatever you can today with |
User:Arthropleura/Felidae/proposed new sections
Other cat species[edit]
Lynx[edit]
Lynx are what you click on your innertube browser. Red lynx are evil goat-eaters. Real lynxes come in four kinds, the bobcat, Spanish lynx, Canada lyx, and Eurasian lynx. The Spanish lynx is critically endangered, and is restricted solely to the Iberian Peninsula. The others are not as threatened, but the hunting of lynx is usually illegal.[1] All of these species are in the genus Lynx, although confusion about classification is common, with some classifying them in the Felis genus.
Ancestors of the domestic cat[edit]
The African wild cat represents one of the earliest examples of domestication. It, and only it, is the proven true ancestor of Tibbles. It was domesticated by the Egyptians, probably to serve as mouse control. Quickly, they became objects of worship, to the point at which those who killed a cat would be killed as well. If a cat died, the family would shave off their eyebrows. Baset was a cat goddess. This suited the cats quite well. Other species, however, have been thought to be cat ancestors. The African wild cat is not the only cat that can be domesticated, however. The rusty-spotted cat is easily domesticated when young (reportedly making an affectionate, playful, and highly expressive pet.[2]) , and the leopard cat was crossbred with the domestic cat to create the Bengal breed[3]. In addition, the Savannah breed was produced by crossing servals and domestic cats.[4]
The sand cat (Felis margarita) has the distinction of having being named after a cocktail[5]. It lives in the Sahara Desert, the Arabian Desert, and anywhere else where you would not expect to find a cat.[6] The sand cat was discovered in 1856 by Victor Loche in North Africa. Loche was part of an expedition led by General Margueritte, therefore the name). It used to be believed by some scientists that sand cats were the ancestors of Persian cats, based on distribution and the fact that both both have hair on the pads of their feet. However, this did not stand up to scientific investigation. The only possible ancestry for the domestic cat that has stood up to genetic testing is the African wild cat.[7]
- ↑ ADW
- ↑ Animal Diversity Web
- ↑ The International Bengal Cat Society
- ↑ the website belonging to a breeder of savannah cats
- ↑ See also: Cuttysarkus mcnallyi
- ↑ Wikipedia
- ↑ Sunquist, Mel and Fiona. Wild Cats of the World. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002. Again.
- ↑ ADW
