Re: LIONS & TIGERS REVISITED

[ELurio@aol.com]

In a message dated 9/26/00 3:06:18 PM, NJPharris@aol.com writes:

<< If recent studies are to be believed (and they seem reasonable to me), 
leopard cats (_Prionailurus bengalensis_) and servals (_Leptailurus serval_) 
are outgroups to the _Panthera_ cats; house cats (_Felis catus_) are on the 
next branch out; and small South American cats like Geoffroy's cats 
(_Oncifelis geoffroyi_) are fairly well separated from all the rest of the 
modern felid species.

Yet Geoffroy's cats, servals, and leopard cats have all been bred with house 
cats to produce healthy hybrids (even fertile ones, in the case of the female 
offspring), known respectively as Safari cats, Savannah cats, and Bengals--I 
happen to own one of the latter. >>

Which is why, it seems that for the most part, most cats are listed in a 
single genus 
-Felis.

eric l.