Sunda clouded leopard

Sunda clouded leopard
Temporal range: early Pleistocene to Recent
Sunda clouded leopard in eastern Sabah, Malaysia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Carnivora
Family:
Felidae
Subfamily:
Pantherinae
Genus:
Neofelis
Binomial name
Neofelis diardi
(G. Cuvier, 1823)
Range of Sunda clouded leopard
Sunda clouded leopard

The Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi), or Bornean clouded leopard, is found on Sumatra and Borneo. It is a genetically distinct species, related to the Clouded leopard.[2][3] It has now been filmed.[4]

The Sunda clouded leopard is the largest cat in Borneo, weighing around 12 to 25 kg (26 to 55 lb). The canine teeth are two inches long, which, in proportion, are longer than other living felines. Its tail, which may be as long as its body, helps it balance when running and jumping.

In Borneo, they occur in lowland rainforest. In Sumatra, they appear to live more in hilly, montane areas. It is not known if there are still Sunda clouded leopards on the small Batu islands close to Sumatra.[1]

Its taxonomy

In December 2006, the genus Neofelis was reclassified into two distinct species:[5][3]

The Sunda clouded leopard in each island is different enough to be a separate subspecies.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hearn A. et al 2008. Neofelis diardi. IUCN Red List of threatened species. Version 2011.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. [1]
  2. ↑ Buckley-Beason V.A.; et al. (2006). "Molecular evidence for species-level distinctions in Clouded Leopards". Current Biology. 16 (23): 2371–2376. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2006.08.066. PMC 5618441. PMID 17141620.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kitchener A.C; Beaumont M.A. & Richardson D. (2006). "Geographical variation in the Clouded Leopard, Neofelis nebulosa, reveals two species". Current Biology. 16 (23): 2377–2383. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2006.10.066. PMID 17141621. S2CID 6838593.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ↑ "Walker Matt 2012. Rare cat filmed up close in Borneo. BBC Nature". Archived from the original on 2013-07-23. Retrieved 2014-05-15.
  5. ↑ Buckley-Beason V.A. et al 2006. Molecular evidence for species-level distinctions in Clouded Leopards. Current Biology 16 (23): 2371–2376. [2]