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The cat's skull is unusual among mammals in having very large eye sockets and a powerful and specialized jaw. [28]: 35 Compared to other felines, domestic cats have narrowly spaced canine teeth, adapted to their preferred prey of small rodents. [29]
Diagram of the general anatomy of a male domestic cat. The domestic cat has a smaller skull and shorter bones than the European wildcat. [49] It averages about 46 cm (18 in) in head-to-body length and 23–25 cm (9.1–9.8 in) in height, with about 30 cm (12 in) long tails. Males are larger than females. [50]
Schauenberg's index is the ratio of skull length to cranial capacity. [1] This index was introduced by Paul Schauenberg in 1969 as a method to identify European wildcat (Felis silvestris) skulls and distinguish them from domestic cat (Felis catus) skulls. [2] [3] [4]
The cheetah resembles the smaller cats in cranial features, and in having a long and flexible spine, as opposed to the stiff and short one in other large felids. [2] The roughly triangular skull has light, narrow bones and the sagittal crest is poorly developed, possibly to reduce weight and enhance speed. The mouth can not be opened as widely ...
Felis species have high and wide skulls, short jaws and narrow ears with short tufts, but without any white spots on the back of the ears. Their pupils contract to a vertical slit. [1] A black cat from Transcaucasia described in 1904 as F. daemon by Satunin [23] turned out to be a feral cat, probably a hybrid of wildcat and domestic cat. [24]
Skull of Smilodon fatalis at maximum gape (128°) Skull of a domestic cat, at maximum gape (80°) The main inhibitors of a large gape for mammals are the temporalis and masseter muscles at the back of the jaw. These muscles have the capacity to be powerful and undergo a great degree of modification for ranging bite forces, but are not very ...
Cat species vary greatly in body and skull sizes, and weights: The largest cat species is the tiger (Panthera tigris), with a head-to-body length of up to 390 cm (150 in), a weight range of at least 65 to 325 kg (143 to 717 lb), and a skull length ranging from 316 to 413 mm (12.4 to 16.3 in).
Pardofelis are small long-tailed, short-headed cats with rounded ears, distinguishable from Prionailurus and related Oriental genera by having the skull higher and more rounded, with the mesopterygoid fossa lanceolate in front and provided with thickened margins or a better developed external crest. [2]