- Marbled Cat
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Marbled Cat[1] 
Conservation status Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Felidae Subfamily: Felinae Genus: Pardofelis
Severtzov, 1858Species: P. marmorata Binomial name Pardofelis marmorata
(Martin, 1837)Subspecies - P. m. charltoni
- P. m. marmorata
Marbled cat range The Marbled Cat (Pardofelis marmorata) is a small wild cat of South and Southeast Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as vulnerable by IUCN as it occurs at low densities, and its total effective population size is suspected to be fewer than 10,000 mature individuals, with no single population numbering more than 1,000.[2]
The species was once considered to belong to the pantherine lineage of "big cats".[3] Genetic analysis has shown that it is closely related with the Asian Golden Cat and the Bay Cat, all of which diverged from the other felids about 9.4 million years ago.[4]
Contents
Characteristics
The marbled cat is similar in size to a domestic cat, with a more thickly furred tail (which may be longer than the body), showing adaptation to its arboreal life-style, where the tail is used as a counterbalance. Marbled cats range from 45 to 62 centimetres (18 to 24 in) in head-body length, with a 35 to 55 centimetres (14 to 22 in) tail. Recorded weights vary between 2 and 5 kilograms (4.4 and 11 lb).[5]
The fur is blotched and banded like a marble, usually compared to the markings of the much larger Indochinese Clouded Leopards or Diard's Clouded Leopards. In colour, the base fur ranges from pale yellow through to brownish grey with lighter underparts. There are dark spots on the legs, underparts, and forehead, with bands on the tail and stripes on the neck and along the middle of the back. There are also white bands on the backs of the ears.[5]
In addition to its long tail, the marbled cat can also be distinguished by its large feet, a feature it shares with the Clouded Leopard. It also possesses unusually large canine teeth, resembling those of the big cats, although these appear to be the result of parallel evolution.[5]
When standing or resting, Marbled Cats assume a characteristic position with their backs arched.
Distribution and habitat
Marbled cats are found in tropical Indomalaya westward along the Himalayan foothills westward into Nepal and eastward into southwest China, and on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. They are primarily associated with moist and mixed deciduous-evergreen tropical forest.[2]
Two subspecies are recognized:[6]
- Pardofelis marmorata marmorata described by William Charles Linnaeus Martin in 1837 — lives in Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo northward to Myanmar;
- Pardofelis marmorata charltoni described by John Edward Gray in 1846 — occurs in northern Myanmar, Sikkim, Darjeeling and Nepal.
Ecology and behavior
In May 2000, a female marbled cat was trapped along an animal trail in a hill-evergreen / bamboo mixed forest in Thailand's Phu Khieu Wildlife Sanctuary. This first-ever radio-tracked marbled cat had an overall home range of 5.8 km2 (2.2 sq mi) at an elevation of 1,000 to 1,200 m (3,300 to 3,900 ft) and was active primarily during nocturnal and crepuscular time periods.[7]
It is probable that forest canopies provide the marbled cat with much of its prey: birds, squirrels, other rodents and reptiles.[5]
A few marbled cats have been bred in captivity, with gestation estimated at between 66 and 82 days. In the few recorded instances, two kittens were born in each litter, and weighed from 61 to 85 g (2.2 to 3.0 oz). The eyes open at around twelve days, and the kittens begin to take solid food at two months, around the time that they begin actively climbing. Marbled cats reach sexual maturity at 21 or 22 months of age, and have lived for up to twelve years in captivity.[5]
Conservation
It is rarely sighted in its densely forested habitat, and little studied or understood. Its population is estimated at below 10,000 mature individuals. Its forested habitats have been shrinking, accounting for its vulnerable listing in IUCN.[2]
The only captive marbled cats registered by ISIS are a pair kept at a breeding center in the United Arab Emirates.[8]
References
- ^ Grubb, Peter (16 November 2005). Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M., eds. ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=14000177.
- ^ a b c d Hearn, A., Sanderson, J., Ross, J., Wilting, A., Sunarto, S., Ahmed Khan, J., Kukherjee, S., Grassman, L. (2008). "Pardofelis marmorata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.4. International Union for Conservation of Nature. http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/16218.
- ^ Hemmer, H. (1978). "The evolutionary systematics of living Felidae: Present status and current problems". Carnivore 1: 71–79.
- ^ Johnson, W. E., Eizirik, E., Pecon-Slattery, J., Murphy, W. J., Antunes, A., Teeling, E., O'Brien, S. J. (2006) The late miocene radiation of modern felidae: A genetic assessment. Science 311: 73–77
- ^ a b c d e Sunquist, Mel; Sunquist, Fiona (2002). Wild cats of the World. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 373–376. ISBN 0-226-77999-8.
- ^ Pocock, R.I. (1939) The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Mammalia. – Volume 1. Taylor and Francis, London.
- ^ Grassman, L.I. Jr., Tewes, M.E. (2000). "Marbled cat in northeastern Thailand". Cat News 33: 24.
- ^ Captive Pardofelis marmorata in zoos - ISIS. Version 4 November 2010
External links
Categories:- IUCN Red List vulnerable species
- Felines
- Mammals of India
- Mammals of Indonesia
- Carnivora of Malaysia
- Mammals of Thailand
- Mammals of Cambodia
- Mammals of Vietnam
- Mammals of Laos
- Mammals of Nepal
- Mammals of Bhutan
- Mammals of Borneo
- Animals described in 1837
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