File:Southern_African_Wildcat_(Felis_sylvestris_cafra)_female_..._(captive_specimen)_(39789072173).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Felis lybica
Sign in to saveAlso known as African wild cat, African wildcat
African wildcat as its own species
OverviewAI-generated
*Felis lybica* is a species within the genus *Felis*. It belongs to the family Felidae, order Carnivora, class Mammalia, phylum Chordata, and kingdom Animalia. The scientific name *Felis lybica* was established by Forster in 1780. Common names for this taxon include "Domestic Cat," "野猫," and "Pisică sălbatică africană."
The IUCN Red List assessed the conservation status of *Felis lybica* as Least Concern in 2022. Biological records for this species are held by institutions including AMNH, ISM, UWYMV, UCMP, and NHMUK. These records document occurrences in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Mozambique.
Synthesized by Vinony from 30 facts across 7 sources: Wikidata, GBIF, iNaturalist, IUCN Red List, Gbif Occ, iDigBio, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Species
Least ConcernDomestic Cat
Felis lybica
SPECIES
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassMammalia
- OrderCarnivora
- FamilyFelidae
via GBIF · IUCN
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 123
- With media
- 4
- Family
- Felidae
- Collections
- AMNH, ISM, UWYMV, UCMP, NHMUK, MNHN
- Recorded in
- Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Mozambique, South Africa, Congo, The Democratic Republic Of The, Zambia
Wikidata facts
Show 5 more facts
- taxon rank
- species
- taxon name
- Felis lybica
- Commons category
- Felis lybica
- IUCN conservation status
- Least Concern
- taxon common name
- Pisică sălbatică africană
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~16 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The African wildcat (Felis lybica) is a small wildcat species with sandy grey fur, pale vertical stripes on the sides and around the face. It is native to Africa, West and Central Asia, and is distributed to Rajasthan in India and Xinjiang in China. It inhabits a broad variety of landscapes ranging from deserts to savannas, shrublands and grasslands.
The African wildcat is the ancestor of the domestic cat (F. catus). Some African wildcats were domesticated about 10,000 years ago in the Near East. Interspecific hybrids between both species are common where their ranges overlap.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Felis lybica” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.