User:Zbuffing/Catopuma

= Catopuma = From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Catopuma is a genus of felid containing two small wild cat species, the Asian golden cat (C. temminckii) and the bay cat (C. badia). Together with the genus Pardofelis it forms the bay cat lineage of felines. Both Catopuma species have similar pelage, with solid reddish brown coloration on their backs and darker markings on the head. They also exhibit color morphs ranging from various browns to gray to black. Both species inhabit forested areas. The Asian golden cat is found on the Southeast Asian mainland and Sumatra, and the bay cat lives only on Borneo.

The two species diverged from one another approximately 3.16 million years ago, long before Borneo separated from the neighboring islands. Their closest living relative is the marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata), from which the common ancestor of the genus Catopuma diverged around 9.4 million years ago.

Taxonomy
The name Catopuma was proposed by Nikolai Severtzov in 1858 with Felis moormensis as type species, which was described by Brian Houghton Hodgson. The Asian golden cat is further divided into two subspecies, C. t. temminckii and C. t. moormensis.