Aug 08
The domestic cat, Felis catus or Felts domesticus, can trace its lineage back 50 million years, to the Miacis from which the Dinictis, Machairodus and eventually today’s cat family, the Felidae (which comprises Acinonyx, cheetahs; Panthera, big cats; and Felis, small cats), evolved. And although the specific ancestry of the domestic cat has been veiled by the mists of time, and further clouded by the interbreeding of various species of wildcat the world over, genetic analysis indicates that most European domestic cats are descended from the African wildcat, Felis sylvestris lybica. (more…)
