Felis lybica
Also known as African wild cat, African wildcat
African wildcat as its own species
Species
Domestic Cat
SPECIES
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassMammalia
- OrderCarnivora
- FamilyFelidae
Observations179,263
via GBIF
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Parc des Felins Chat de Gordoni 28082013 2.jpg
Sources (2)
Article
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.