Prionailurus was first proposed by the Russian explorer and naturalist
Nikolai Severtzov in 1858 as a
generic name for a single
felid occurring in
tropical Asia, namely
Felis pardachrous described by
Brian Houghton Hodgson — the
leopard cat. As varieties, Severtzov lists
Felis nipalensis described by
Thomas Horsfield and
Nicholas Aylward Vigors,
Leopardus Elliotti,
Leopardus Horsfieldi and
Leopardus chinensis described by
John Edward Gray, and
Felis bengalensis described by
Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest. The British zoologist
Reginald Innes Pocock recognized the
taxonomic classification of
Prionailurus in 1917. In 1939, he described the genus on the basis of skins and
skulls, and compared these to body parts of
Felis. Pocock classified the leopard cat, rusty-spotted cat and fishing cat as belonging to the genus
Prionailurus. }} }} The fossil species
Prionailurus kurteni was found in
Pleistocene deposits of China.
Molecular analysis of leopard cat populations indicates a clear distinction between northern populations from
Tsushima,
Korea,
Siberia,
China and
Taiwan and Southeast Asian populations. If these genetic differences indicate a specific distinction,
P. b. euptilurus may yet be a valid species. The
Iriomote cat (
P. bengalensis iriomotensis) has been proposed as a distinct species based on
morphology, but is considered a
subspecies of
P. bengalensis based on
genetic analysis.
Phylogeny Phylogenetic analysis of the
nuclear DNA in tissue samples from all Felidae species revealed that the
evolutionary radiation of the Felidae began in Asia in the
Miocene around . Analysis of
mitochondrial DNA of all Felidae species indicates a radiation at around . Both models agree in the rusty-spotted cat having been the first cat of the
Prionailurus lineage that
genetically diverged, followed by the flat-headed cat and then the fishing cat. It is estimated to have diverged together with the leopard cat between and . The following
cladogram shows their phylogenetic relationship as derived through analysis of nuclear DNA: ==References==