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The African wildcat (Felis lybica) is a small wildcat species with sandy grey fur, pale vertical stripes on the sides and around the face. It is native to Africa , West and Central Asia , and is distributed to Rajasthan in India and Xinjiang in China .
The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (Felis silvestris) and the African wildcat (F. lybica).The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the African wildcat inhabits semi-arid landscapes and steppes in Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Central Asia, into western India and western China. [2]
The Southern African wildcat (Felis lybica cafra) is an African wildcat subspecies native to Southern and Eastern Africa. [1] In 2007, it was tentatively recognised as a distinct subspecies on the basis of genetic analysis. [2]
Current taxonomy tends to treat F. silvestris, F. lybica, F. catus, [4] and F. bieti as different species. A 2007 study of feline mitochondrial DNA and microsatellites of approximately 1,000 cats from many different regions (including Africa, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and the Middle East) showed 5 genetic lineages of the wildcat population. [5]
The African wildcat (Felis lybica) is almost three times as large as the black-footed cat, has longer legs, a longer tail and mostly plain grey fur with less distinct markings. The serval ( Leptailurus serval ) resembles the black-footed cat in coat colour and pattern, but has proportionately larger ears, longer legs and a longer tail.
The Kellas cat is a hybrid between domestic cat and European wildcat occurring in Scotland. [25] The Corsican wildcat is considered to have been introduced to Corsica before the beginning of the 1st millennium. [26] [27] A genetic study of a dozen individuals showed that they are closely related to the African wildcat originating in the Middle ...
The domestic cat, known variously as Felis catus, F. silvestris catus, or F. lybica catus, a descendant of the African wildcat (F. lybica), has been hybridized with several wild felid species. These wild-domestic hybrids have sometimes been called "feral-domestic hybrids".
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