Felidae is the largest family of cats, including Pantherinae (big cats) and Felinae (house cats). They evolved 25 million years ago and there are now 40 species worldwide. They are meat eaters and skilled hunters, with retractable claws and excellent night vision. Domestic cats are the most successful feline, with a population of almost one billion.
Felidae are members of the biological family Felidae, the largest family of cats. The family includes two subfamilies, Pantherinae, also called “big cats” (lions, tigers, jaguars, leopards) and Felinae (cougar, cheetah, lynx, caracal, and the familiar house cat). Felids evolved during the Oligocene, about 25 million years ago. Until about 10,000 years ago, there was another cat subfamily, the Machairodontinae, which included the famous saber-toothed cats, but they were probably driven to extinction by humans.
Today there are 40 species of felids, all believed to descend from a common ancestor that lived about 10.8 million years ago. This group evolved in Asia and spread across the world via land bridges. There have been at least 10 migrations of distinction. Like many placental mammalian taxa, the natural range of the felidae includes all continents except Australia and Antarctica. Felidae are not usually found on small islands far from the coast unless introduced by humans.
As members of the order Carnivora, felids are meat eaters, but are also more uniquely suited for hunting and eating meat than any other family within the order. Felids need meat to live, as parts of their intestines that can process vegetative matter have long been selected. Felidae subsist primarily on consumption of other vertebrates, including birds, rodents, and larger animals such as gazelles, deer, elk, bighorn sheep, and wildebeest. Three-quarters of cats live in wooded terrain, where they climb trees and act as ambush predators. With the exception of lions and the domestic cat, all felines are solitary.
Felidae are extremely skilled hunters. Except for the cheetah, they have retractable claws, which allow them to walk easily but extend their claws when they go hunting. They possess large eyes with excellent night vision, provided in part by the tapetum lecidum, a reflective membrane within the eye that helps direct light onto the retina in low-light conditions. This is what causes the characteristic clarity of feline eyes. Because of their sheen, felids can be found easily at night by humans who shine a flashlight and look for the distinctive reflective eyes.
The most successful feline in terms of numbers is obviously the domestic cat, which has spread throughout the world as a human pet and as a pesticide. Cats are the most popular pet in the world, with a population approaching one billion. The relationship between humans and cats dates back at least 9,500 years, possibly more. Through thousands of years of selective breeding, there are now approximately 73 distinct breeds of cats.
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