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Discussion in 'Websites about Zoos & Animal Conservation' started by Arizona Docent, 29 May 2015.

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  1. Arizona Docent

    Arizona Docent Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    Arizona Docent, 29 May 2015
    #1
    Onychorhynchus coronatus likes this.
  2. savethelephant

    savethelephant Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    Thank you Arizona Docent! That was fascinating:)
     
    savethelephant, 29 May 2015
    #2
  3. TeaLovingDave

    TeaLovingDave Moderator Staff Member 10+ year member

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    A great read indeed :) thoroughly enjoyed it.
     
    TeaLovingDave, 29 May 2015
    #3
  4. Arizona Docent

    Arizona Docent Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    Issue two has just been released. The introduction includes a hint that a new cat taxonomy will be unveiled next month at the IUCN Congress. Small cat splits will take the number of cat species from the current 36/37/38 (depending on source) up to 41.
    http://www.wild-cat.org/SWCCN/SWCCN_2016_02.pdf
     
    Arizona Docent, 29 Aug 2016
    #4
  5. devilfish

    devilfish Well-Known Member

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    Very interesting indeed! Thanks for sharing. :)
     
    devilfish, 29 Aug 2016
    #5
  6. FunkyGibbon

    FunkyGibbon Well-Known Member

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    Bad news for devilfish :p
    Does that put you on 5 species to see or did you already any of them as subspecies?
     
    FunkyGibbon, 29 Aug 2016
    #6
  7. devilfish

    devilfish Well-Known Member

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    I'm not sure what the splits are; any info/any bets?
    I'd like to think that Amur leopard cat would be one, and perhaps another leopard cat ssp. but nothing else comes to mind which is very distinct but hasn't been definitively tested already. I'm looking forward to finding out! :)
     
    devilfish, 29 Aug 2016
    #7
  8. TeaLovingDave

    TeaLovingDave Moderator Staff Member 10+ year member

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    The thing that interests me is the statement that there will be 14 recognised genera; this may mean that the Profelis/Caracal and Catopuma/Pardofelis synonymizations have been reversed, that new genera have been split, or a combination of the above.

    My guess for some of the potential areas for new species:

    Colocolo/Pampas/Pantanal split
    Tigrina/Oncilla split
    Amur Cat/Leopard Cat
    Mainland Tiger/Sumatran Tiger

    Going on the most conservative 36-species count that adds 5.
     
    TeaLovingDave, 29 Aug 2016
    #8
  9. devilfish

    devilfish Well-Known Member

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    I thought Tigrina was already recognised?
    He also mentioned the number of big cat species hasn't changed, so unless one's been lumped then it's unlikely tigers have been split.

    A shame, because I really like your list. ;)
     
    devilfish, 29 Aug 2016
    #9
  10. jbnbsn99

    jbnbsn99 Well-Known Member

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    What about a split of the Asian Golden Cat?
     
    jbnbsn99, 29 Aug 2016
    #10
  11. TeaLovingDave

    TeaLovingDave Moderator Staff Member 10+ year member

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    It is an accepted taxon, but has not yet been acknowledged by the IUCN; as such this will be one of the new additions which some already acknowledge, given the fact that AD noted the current total varies depending on who you ask.
     
    TeaLovingDave, 29 Aug 2016
    #11
  12. Chlidonias

    Chlidonias Moderator Staff Member 15+ year member

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    looking at the list of Felidae on the IUCN site, they currently have 37 species (including the Sunda Clouded Leopard). If the number of species is going up to 41 that only means four new ones. The article says they retain seven Big Cats with no change (presumably including Cheetah and Puma), four lynx and two clouded leopards. So that leaves 28 other Small Cats.

    There's a good chance Chinese Mountain Cat may be subsumed, which would actually give five new species needed to make 41.

    I think the really obvious choices would be Pampas Cat being split in three (so two new species) and Oncilla into two (giving the third new species).

    Leopard Cat will probably be split in two (not necessarily Amur vs others) which would give the fourth new one.

    Outside chance of Iriomote Cat being reinstated as a full species.
     
    Chlidonias, 30 Aug 2016
    #12
  13. Chlidonias

    Chlidonias Moderator Staff Member 15+ year member

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    the IUCN already uses 14 genera:

    Acinonyx
    Caracal
    Catopuma
    Felis
    Herpailurus
    Leopardus
    Leptailurus
    Lynx
    Neofelis
    Otocolobus
    Panthera
    Pardofelis
    Prionailurus
    Puma
     
    Chlidonias, 30 Aug 2016
    #13
  14. TeaLovingDave

    TeaLovingDave Moderator Staff Member 10+ year member

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    Precisely my point; over the last few years the list has dropped to twelve:

    Acinonyx
    Caracal (containing Profelis)
    Felis
    Leopardus
    Leptailurus
    Lynx
    Neofelis
    Otocolobus
    Panthera
    Pardofelis (containing Catopuma)
    Prionailurus
    Puma (containing Herpailurus)

    Therefore, in order to go up again to 14 the Catopuma/Pardofelis and Herpailurus/Puma merges will have been reversed, assuming the current IUCN list is identical to the forthcoming one.
     
    TeaLovingDave, 30 Aug 2016
    #14
  15. Maguari

    Maguari Never could get the hang of Thursdays. 15+ year member Premium Member

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    But it hasn't dropped to 12 in the IUCN's official opinion, which is the matter at hand - so there's nothing to reverse in those two cases. ;)

    Do remember that what is changing is an organisation's official opinion of which versions of the names most accurately represent our understanding of felid taxonomy - there're no absolutes.
     
    Maguari, 3 Sep 2016
    #15
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  16. Chlidonias

    Chlidonias Moderator Staff Member 15+ year member

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    I thought I'd already replied saying much that same thing, but it seems I had forgotten to so.

    So, what Maguari said :D
     
    Chlidonias, 3 Sep 2016
    #16
  17. devilfish

    devilfish Well-Known Member

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    With only hours left before the ten-day congress comes to an end, I've been trying to discover more about the announced splits but with no luck at all. There's a chance it'll be discussed at the very end of the congress or released a few days later, but has anyone heard anything?
     
    devilfish, 10 Sep 2016
    #17
  18. Chlidonias

    Chlidonias Moderator Staff Member 15+ year member

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    the list on the IUCN website has gone up to 38 species (from 37) with the Oncilla having been split in two.

    There are comments added on some of the species accounts (including L. colocolo and L. guttulus) about them being currently under review with possible further splits.
     
    Chlidonias, 13 Sep 2016
    #18
  19. Arizona Docent

    Arizona Docent Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    On the IUCN list (38 species), the jaguarundi is back in its own genus of Herpailurus. Also the Chinese mountain cat is a full species which I find odd - I thought it had been definitively placed as a subspecies of wildcat.
     
    Arizona Docent, 18 Nov 2016
    #19
  20. TeaLovingDave

    TeaLovingDave Moderator Staff Member 10+ year member

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    It has been flip-flopped on a few times I believe :p the annoying thing is that this move means it is nigh-certain I will never get a full set of Felis, rather than only having Jungle Cat left to see!
     
    TeaLovingDave, 18 Nov 2016
    #20
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