Felinae: A cat is a lion in a jungle of small bushes.

The small to medium sized cats of the Felinae subfamily are the most successful and species diverse group of felids in the present age, with their habitat spanning from the couch in your house to the jungles of South America and the savannahs of Africa.There are a total of 8 lineages within the existent felid phylogenetic tree, 7 belonging to the Felinae subfamily (As seen in Figure 1). After the split from the Pantherines, there was a series of rapid divergence events within the Felinae lineage leading to the radiation of 7 other cat groups, with the Bay Cat lineage being the first to evolve in Eurasia and the last known branch being the Domestic Cat lineage which evolved in Eurasia and Africa. Within the felid phylogeny, 21 of the 36 divergences occurred within just 1 million years (Johnson et.al. 2006). At approximately 8.5-8 MYA and 6.7-6.2 MYA, the migration of felids between Eurasia and North America (M2 and M4 in Figure 1) was most likely due to low sea levels, introducing a new diversity of felines and carnivores to the Americas.


Figure 1. The hierachel divergence and migrations along the phylogenetic lineages of the Felidae family (Johnson et.al. 2006).

 

Although different in size, species of the Felinae subfamily are very similar to the Pantherines, mainly because they have evolved together and are conical-toothed cats. Thus, it may be inferred that they have very similar killing techniques. There are 2 types of killing strategies known to be used by modern felids; biting at the back of the neck to damage the spinal cord, which is instinctive, and biting at the throat, which is learned (Martin 1980). Thus the evolution of dentition of both subfamilies is governed by the need for powerful biting, that is irrespective of body size. (Christiansen 2008). Additionally, the two subfamilies can be arboreal, or cursorial, or both and consequently locations where you get a combination of trees and open areas, are perfect adaptive environments for modern felids (Martin 1980). Many clades within Felidae also have evolutionary outliers, and the Felinae subfamily is no exception, with the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) having the uncharacteristic non-retractile claws and the ocelot (Leopardis pardalis) possessing remarkable flexion in the feet when most cats are digitigrade (Martin 1980). 

References:
  • Christiansen P, 2008, 'Evolution of Skull and Mandible Shape in Cats (Carnivora: Felidae)', PLoS ONE, viewed 7 April 2015, doi10.1371/journal.pone.000280.
  • Johnson WE, Eizirik E, Pecon-Slattery J, Murphy WJ, Antunes A, Teeling E and O'Brien SJ 2006, 'The Late Miocene Radiation of Modern Felidae: A Genetic Assessment', Science, vol. 311, no. 5757, pp. 73-77. 
  • Martin LD 1980, 'Functional Morphology and the Evolution of Cats', Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies, vol. 8, pp. 141-154.

Comments

  1. Tasmin2 May 2015 at 22:04

    I like the title of the post  This group seems to be quite a successful one. I’m curious to find out why there are no cats in Australia – have you found this out yet? I’m also interested to know if there is geographic variation in preferred killing technique. Do you see a higher incidence of one type of killing strategy in some areas compared to others?

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    Replies
    1. Lili Usher-Chandler5 May 2015 at 19:52

      I have not been able to find any information on why there are no native cats in Australia, but I will keep researching and may try to contact experts in the felid evolutionary biology field. But referring to killing technique and geographic variation, most modern felids kill the same way ie stalking, sprinting, capture and spinal cord injury and or suffocation, no matter what geographic region they are in there doesn't seem to be a huge difference in killing technique (from what is known). Size however can make a difference in killing technique but usually smaller cats are just miniature versions of larger cats, instead hunting smaller animals and killing in the same way ie domestic cats.

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