Caracal
African golden cat (C. aurata)
Caracal (C. caracal)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Felinae
Genus: Caracal
Gray, 1843
Type species
Caracal melanotis
Gray, 1843
Species

See text

Caracal is a genus in the subfamily Felinae of the family Felidae. It was proposed by John Edward Gray in 1843 who described a skin from the Cape of Good Hope in the collection of the Natural History Museum, London.[1] Historically, it was considered to be a monotypic genus, consisting of only the type species: the caracal C. caracal.[2]

Taxonomy

Phylogenetic analysis revealed that caracal, African golden cat (C. aurata) and serval (Leptailurus serval) are genetically closely related forming a genetic lineage that diverged from the common ancestor of the Felidae 7.91 to 4.14 million years ago.[3] This taxonomic classification is used in the IUCN Red List for the African golden cat.[4] It is used as a synonym for the serval.[5]

SpeciesIUCN Red List status
and distribution
Caracal C. caracal
(Schreber, 1776)
NT[6]

African golden cat C. aurata
(Temminck, 1827)
VU[4]

References

  1. ↑ Gray, J. E. (1843). "The Caracal". List of the specimens of Mammalia in the collection of the British Museum. London: The Trustees of the British Museum. p. 46.
  2. ↑ Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Genus Carcal". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 533. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  3. ↑ 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 (5757): 73–7. Bibcode:2006Sci...311...73J. doi:10.1126/science.1122277. PMID 16400146. S2CID 41672825.
  4. 1 2 Bahaa-el-din, L.; Mills, D.; Hunter, L. & Henschel, P. (2015). "Caracal aurata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T18306A50663128.
  5. ↑ Thiel, C. (2015). "Leptailurus serval". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T11638A50654625. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  6. ↑ Avgan, B.; Henschel, P. & Ghoddousi, A. (2016) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Caracal caracal". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T3847A102424310. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T3847A50650230.en. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
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