Felinae

 ( Felids ) 

The Felinae or small cats are a subfamily of the Felidae distinguished by a bony hyoid, because of which they can purr but not roar. Other authors have proposed an alternative definition for this subfamily, as comprising only the living conical-toothed cat genera with two tribes, the Felini and Pantherini, and excluding the extinct sabre-toothed Machairodontinae.

(2025). 9781408122518, Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781408122518

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Characteristics The members of the Felinae have retractile claws that are protected by at least one cutaneous lobe. Their larynx is kept close to the base of the skull by an Ossification hyoid. They can purr owing to the vocal folds being shorter than . The cheetah Acinonyx does not have cutaneous sheaths for guarding claws.

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Taxonomy The term 'Felini' was first used in 1817 by Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim, at the time for all the cat species that had been proposed as belonging to the genus Felis. In 1917, Reginald Innes Pocock also subordinated the following genera to the Felinae that had been proposed in the course of the 19th century: Lynx, Puma, Leptailurus, Prionailurus, Pardofelis, Leopardus, Herpailurus, Neofelis and four more.

The Felinae and Pantherinae probably diverged about 11.5 million years ago. The genera within the Felinae diverged between 10.67 and 4.23 million years ago.

Today, the following living genera and species are recognised as belonging to the Felinae:

Acinonyx	Cheetah ( A. jubatus) |	Africa and Western Asia
Caracal	Caracal ( C. caracal) African golden cat ( C. aurata) |	Africa and Western Asia
Catopuma	Asian golden cat ( C. temminckii) Bay cat ( C. badia) |	Southeast Asia
Felis	Domestic cat ( F. catus) European wildcat ( F. silvestris) Jungle cat ( F. chaus) African wildcat ( F. lybica) Black-footed cat ( F. nigripes) Sand cat ( F. margarita) Chinese mountain cat ( F. bieti) |	Afro-Eurasia Cat (Cat)
Herpailurus	Jaguarundi ( H. yagouaroundi) |	Central America and South America
Leopardus	Ocelot ( L. pardalis) Oncilla ( L. tigrinus) Pampas cat ( L. colocolo) Kodkod ( L. guigna) Margay ( L. wiedii) Geoffroy's cat ( L. geoffroyi) Andean mountain cat ( L. jacobitus) Southern tiger cat ( L. guttulus) |	Central America and South America
Leptailurus	Serval ( L. serval) |	Africa
Lynx	Eurasian lynx ( L. lynx) Bobcat ( L. rufus) Canada lynx ( L. canadensis) Iberian lynx ( L. pardinus) |	Northern Hemisphere
Otocolobus	Pallas's cat ( O. manul) |	Central Asia
Pardofelis	Marbled cat ( P. marmorata) |	Southeast Asia
Prionailurus	Leopard cat ( P. bengalensis) Sunda leopard cat ( P. javanensis) Flat-headed cat ( P. planiceps) Fishing cat ( P. viverrinus) Rusty-spotted cat ( P. rubiginosus) |	Southeast Asia and East Asia
Puma	Cougar ( P. concolor) |	Americas

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Extinct taxa

Felis lunensis

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Acinonyx aicha

A. intermedius

A. pardinensis

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L. issiodorensis

L. rexroadensis

Lynx thomasi

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Puma lacustris

Puma pardoides

Puma pumoides

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L. vorohuensis

|LeptofelisMiracinonyxPratifelisPristifelisSivapantheraVishnufelis

L. vallesiensis |
M. inexpectatus M. trumani |
P. martini |
P. attica |
S. arvernensis S. brachygnathus S. linxiaensis S. padhriensis S. pleistocaenicus S. potens |
Sivapardus	S. punjabiensis |
V. laticeps |

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Phylogeny

The phylogenetic relationships of Felinae are shown in the following cladogram:

(2025). 9780199234455, Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199234455

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See also

• List of felids

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External links

Categories: Felids, Taxa Named By Gotthelf Fischer Von Waldheim, Extant Miocene First Appearances

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