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.
WANG Jin-Feng, ZHANG Ya-Ping, YU Li
. Summary of phylogeny in family Felidae of Carnivora[J]. Hereditas(Beijing), 2012
, 34(11)
: 1365
-1378
.
DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1005.2012.01365
[1] Johnson WE, Eizirik E, Pecon-Slattery J, Murphy WJ, Antunes A, Teeling E, O'Brien SJ. The late miocene radiation of modern Felidae: a genetic assessment. Science, 2006, 311(5757): 73-77.
[2] Nowak RM. Walker’s Mammals of the World. 5th ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991.
[3] Mattern MY, McLennan DA. Phylogeny and speciation of felids. Cladistics, 2000, 16(2): 232-253.
[4] Johnson WE, Dratch PA, Martenson JS, O'Brien SJ. Resolution of recent radiations within three evolutionary lineages of Felidae using mitochondrial restriction fragment length polymorphism variation. J Mamm Evol, 1996, 3(2): 97-120.
[5] Baillie JEM, Groombridge B, Gärdenfors U, Stattersfield AJ. 1996 IUCN red list of threatened animals. Switzerland: World Conservation Union, Gland, 1996.
[6] Masuda R, Lopez JV, Slattery JP, Yuhki N, O'Brien SJ. Molecular phylogeny of mitochondrial cytochrome b and 12S rRNA sequences in the Felidae: ocelot and domestic cat lineages. Mol Phylogenet Evol, 1996, 6(3): 351-365.
[7] International Union for Conservation of Nature and Nature Resources(IUCN). Red Book of Endangered Plant and Animal Species. World Conservation Union, Gland, Switzerland, 1986.
[8] Savage DE, Russell DE. Mammalian Paleofaunas of the World. London: Addison-Wesley, 1983.
[9] Martin LD. Fossil History of the Terrestrial Carnivora. In: Gittleman JL, ed. Carnivore Behavior, Ecology, and Evolution. New York: Cornell University Press, 1988.
[10] Johnson WE, O’Brien SJ. Phylogenetic reconstruction of the Felidae using 16S rRNA and NADH-5 mitochondrial genes. J Mol Evol, 1997, 44(1): 98-116.
[11] Martin LD. Functional morphology and the evolution of cats. Trans Neb Acad Sci, 1980, 8: 141-154.
[12] Collier GE, O'Brien SJ. A molecular phylogeny of the Felidae: immunological distance. Evolution, 1985, 39(3): 473-487.
[13] Werdelin L. Small pleistocene felines of North America. J Vertebr Paleontol, 1985, 5(3): 194-210.
[14] Hunt MH. Biogeography of the Order Carnivora. In: Gittleman JL, ed. Carnivore Behavior, Ecology, and Evolution. New York: Cornell University Press, 1996.
[15] Nowak RM, Paradiso JL. Walker's Mammals of the World. 6th ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999.
[16] Wayne RK, Van Valkenburgh B, O'brien SJ. Molecular distance and divergence time in carnivores and primates. Mol Biol Evol, 1991, 8(3): 297-319.
[17] O'Brien SJ, Johnson WE. The evolution of cats. Sci Am, 2007, 297(1): 68-75.
[18] Kurtén B. Fossil puma (Mammalia: Felidae) in North America. Neth J Zool, 1975, 26(4): 502-534.
[19] Turner A. Extinction, speciation and dispersal in African larger carnivores, from the late Miocene to Recent. S Afr J Sci, 1985, 81(5): 256-257.
[20] Van Valkenburgh B, Grady F, Kurtén B. The plio-pleistocene cheetah-like cat miracinonyx inexpectatus of North America. J Vertebr Paleontol, 1990, 10(4): 434-454.
[21] Ficcarelli G. The Villafranchian cheetahs from Tuscany and remarks on the dispersal and evolution of the genus Acinonyx. Palaeontographia Italica, 1984, 73(43): 94-103.
[22] Clutton-Brock J. A Natural History of Domesticated Animals. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987.
[23] Pecon Slattery JP, Johnson WE, Goldman D, O'Brien SJ. Phylogenetic reconstruction of South American felids defined by protein electrophoresis. J Mol Evol, 1994, 39(3): 296-305.
[24] Guggisberg CAW. Wild Cats of the World. New York: Taplinger Publishing Company, 1975.
[25] Kitchener A. The Natural History of the Wild Cats. New York: Comstock Cornell, 1991.
[26] Seidensticker J, Lumpkin S, Knight F. Great Cats. London: Rodale Press, 1991.
[27] Pocock RI. The classification of existing Felidae. Ann Mag Nat Hist, 1917, 20(119): 329-350.
[28] Simpson GG.
