In February 1929, M. Rey-Jouvin collected the skin and skull of a female wildcat from the Aunes forest at the border of the
Étang de Biguglia. In that same year, it was examined and described by
Louis Lavauden, who named it the
holotype of the new species
Felis reyi, the Corsican wildcat. The specific name
reyi honored M. Rey-Jouvin. It was provisionally suggested to be a synonym of
Felis lybica sarda by
Reginald Innes Pocock who reviewed
Felis skins in the collection of the
Natural History Museum, London, but he admitted to not being able to review any specimens from Corsica himself, and based his suggestion off of Lavauden's description. Following
zooarchaeological research in Corsica, it was regarded to have been introduced to the island during the
Roman Empire, likely originating from
domestic cat stock. As of 2017, it was no longer considered a valid species or subspecies. However, in January 2023, a scientific paper was published with results of
genetic testing on Corsican wildcats, finding they were genetically distinct from both the
European wildcat and domestic cat species. ==Description==