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HEREDITAS ›› 2012, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (11): 1365-1378.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1005.2012.01365

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Summary of phylogeny in family Felidae of Carnivora

WANG Jin-Feng1, ZHANG Ya-Ping1, 2 ,YU Li1, 3   

  1. 1. Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-resource, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China 2. State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China 3. Key Laboratory for animal genetic diversity and evolution of high education in Yunnan Province, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
  • Received:2012-07-27 Revised:2012-10-12 Online:2012-11-20 Published:2012-11-25

Abstract: Felidae (cats) is one of the strict carnivorous groups in the order Carnivora, many of which are most familiar and spectacular to us. They are the top predators in the world. Thirty-six of 37 living cat species are considered as either “endangered” or “threatened”. The relationships among species of the family Felidae, which evolved recently and rapidly, are difficult to resolve, and have been the subject of debate. Construction of a reliable Felidae phylogeny will be of evolu-tionarily significance and conservation value. In this paper, we summarized phylogeny of Felidae, including cytological, morphological and molecular evidence, and pointed out the existing phylogenetic problems. This review is expected to guide future researches of Felidae phylogeny, and to lay a theoretic foundation for the protection of this animal group.

Key words: Felidae, phylogeny, mitochondrial DNA, nuclear genes