Martelli's cat

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Martelli's cat
A bone from the jaw of a Martelli's cat.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Felinae
Genus: Felis
Species:
F. lunensis
Binomial name
Felis lunensis

Martelli's cat (Felis lunensis) is a small wild cat in the Felinae subfamily. It used to live in Europe. It is extinct now. That means there are no Martelli's cats alive now.

Martelli's cat first lived about 12 million years ago. This was during the Pliocene era. It was bigger than most wildcats. It hunted birds and small mammals.[1]

Some scientists think that the modern wildcat (Felis silvestris) evolved from Martelli's cat.[2]

References[change | change source]

  1. Alexandra Powe Allred (May 14, 2014). Cats' Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Mysterious Mousers, Talented Tabbies, and Feline Oddities. Potomac Books. ISBN 9781612342931. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  2. Nobuyuki Yamaguchi; Carlos A. Driscoll; Andrew C. Kitchener; Jennifer M. Ward; David W. MacDonald (September 2004). "Craniological differentiation between European wildcats (Felis silvestris silvestris), African wildcats (F. s. lybica) and Asian wildcats (F. s. ornata): implications for their evolution and conservation". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 83 (1): 47–63. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2004.00372.x. S2CID 86414815. Retrieved August 5, 2020.