Molecular Genetics and Evolution
of Melanism in the Cat Family
cat (Felis catus) is inherited as a recessive trait, suggesting
agouti/ASIP as a candidate gene [1, 2], whereas
a dominant inheritance pattern has been reported for
Eduardo Eizirik,1,2,* Naoya Yuhki,1
Warren E. Johnson,1 Marilyn Menotti-Raymond,1
Steven S. Hannah,3 and Stephen J. O’Brien1,*
1Laboratory of Genomic Diversity melanism in the jaguar (Panthera onca) [3], suggesting
NCI-Frederick involvement of extension/MC1R. To date, little is known
National Institutes of Health about the molecular or adaptive basis of coat color variaFrederick,
Maryland 21702-1201 tion in free-ranging mammals, and so far no study has
2Department of Biology addressed this issue in multiple polymorphic species
University of Maryland from the same family.
College Park, Maryland 20742 We first mapped, cloned, and sequenced the domes3Nestle
´ Purina PetCare Company tic cat homologs of ASIP and MC1R ([10]; Eizirik et al.,
Saint Louis, Missouri 63164 unpublished data). The domestic cat ASIP gene maps
to chromosome A3, and MC1R maps to chromosome
E2; in both cases, the location corresponds to the hoSummary
mologous genomic position of their human counterparts
[10]. The feline ASIP gene consists of three coding exMelanistic
coat coloration occurs as a common poly- ons, as in other mammals, but comprises 405 bp (135
morphism in 11 of 37 felid species and reaches high codons) as opposed to 393–396 in other species [6,
population frequency in some cases but never achieves 11–13], due to a three-residue insertion after codon 84
complete fixation [1–3]. To investigate the genetic ba- (see the SupplementaryMaterial [available with this artisis,
adaptive significance, and evolutionary history of cle online and at http://lgd.nci.nih.gov as a link to this
melanistic variants in the Felidae, we mapped, cloned, paper] for the full sequence of both genes). The cat
and sequenced the cat homologs of two putative can- MC1R gene consists of an intron-less 951 bp (317 codidate
genes for melanism (ASIP [agouti ] and MC1R) dons) open reading frame, similar in structure to other
and identified three independent deletions associated mammalian homologs [8, 9, 11, 12, 14–17].
with dark coloration in three different felid species. Three novelmicrosatellitemarkers linked toASIPwere
Association and transmission analyses revealed that isolated from a domestic cat BAC clone containing this
a 2 bp deletion in the ASIP gene specifies black color- gene and were used to perform linkage analyses in a
ation in domestic cats, and two different “in-frame” pedigree of 89 domestic cats that segregated for meladeletions
in theMC1Rgene are implicated inmelanism nism. LOD scores obtained from these loci indicated
in jaguars and jaguarundis.Melanistic individuals from the existence of highly significant linkagewith no recomfive
other felid species did not carry any of thesemuta- bination between these markers and melanism (maxitions,
implying that there are at least four independent mum LOD scores were at 0.0 cM: 16.39, 11.35, and
genetic origins for melanism in the cat family. The 11.03 for FCA708, FCA718, and FCA719, respectively).
inferred multiple origins and independent historical Sequence characterization of the ASIP gene in multiple
elevation in population frequency of felid melanistic domestic cats revealed that black individuals were homutations
suggest the occurrence of adaptive evolu- mozygous for an allele (named ASIP-
2) in which a 2
tion of this visible phenotype in a group of related free- bp deletion at nucleotide positions 123–124 induces a
ranging species. frame shift in the inferred protein, predicting a complete
loss of the C-terminal active domain (Figure 1A).
PCR primers flanking the ASIP-
2 deletion were de-
Results and Discussion signed and used to screen a collection of 83 unrelated
domestic cats, the 89-member domestic cat pedigree,
The cat family (Felidae) exhibits a wide diversity of coat and 56 wild felid individuals from 20 species. Family
colors and patterns, including melanism in at least 11 transmission analysis in the domestic cat pedigree demspecies
and different color “phases” in several others. onstrated perfect cosegregation between the ASIP-
2
For example, in the small Neotropical jaguarundi (Her- allele and black coloration, and this cosegregation conpailurus
yaguarondi), coloration varies from dark brown/ forms to the recessive mode of inheritance [1, 2] (see
gray (the most common form, widely regarded as the the Supplementary Material). In addition, 57 unrelated
wild-type) to light reddish [1, 2]. black domestic cats collected throughout the world
Molecular genetic studies in mice have identified sev- were homozygous for the ASIP-
2 allele, whereas 26
eral genes involved in pigmentation phenotypes [4, 5], non-black individuals carried at least one wild-type allele
including loci involved in melanism, such as agouti/ASIP (Figure 2), demonstrating perfect association between
(Agouti Signaling Protein) [6, 7] and extension/MC1R coloration phenotype and molecular genotype (p 
(Melanocortin-1 receptor) [8, 9]. Recessive variants of 0.001 in a Fisher’s exact test using a recessive mode of
agouti cause melanism, which is also induced by domi- inheritance). The survey of 20 other cat species (includnant
mutations in MC1R [4–9]. Melanism in the domestic ing melanistic individuals for 7 of them) representing all
major lineages in the Felidae revealed that the ASIP-
2
*Correspondence: obrien@ncifcrf.gov (S.J.O.); eizirike@ncifcrf.gov (E.E.) allele was unique to domestic cats and absent among
Brief Communication
449
Figure 1. Nucleotide Variation in the ASIP and MC1R Genes Associated with Melanism in the Felidae
(A) Nucleotide sequence of domestic cat ASIP exon 2, shown for a wild-type (Cat-WT) and a black individual (Cat-Black) homozygous for the
ASIP-
2 allele; amino acid sequences are given above (Cat-WT) and below (Cat-Black) the third position of each codon. Dots indicate identity
to the top sequence. The genomic structure of ASIP and the location of the STR loci (arrowheads) used for the linkage analysis are indicated
above the sequence; dashed lines indicate uncertain positions of different shotgun sequence contigs ([10]; Eizirik et al., unpublished data).
The initiation codon is underlined, and the two (bold underlined) nucleotides deleted in the ASIP-
2 allele (indicated by asterisks) are boxed.
A premature stop codon after residue 99 in ASIP-
2 removes the terminal portion of the peptide (see the Supplementary Material for more
details).
(B) Partial nucleotide sequence (positions 274–324; codon positions in parentheses; see the Supplementary Material for full sequence) of the
feline MC1R gene aligned with other mammalian homologs (GenBank accession numbers: dog, AF064455; pig, AF326520; cattle, U39469;
horse, AF288357; human, AF326275). Sequences are shown from a domestic cat (D.cat), wild-type jaguar allele (Jaguar-WT), melanistic jaguar
allele MC1R-
15 (Jaguar-Mel), dark-brown jaguarundi allele MC1R-
24 (Jaguarundi-Dark), and a reddish jaguarundi (Jaguarundi-Red). Dots
indicate identity to the top sequence; the domestic cat amino acid sequence is given above the nucleotide alignment. The jaguar and jaguarundi
melanistic deletions are shaded (dashes indicate deleted sites). Codons repeated at both ends of each deletion (possibly involved in the origin
of these variants through replication slippage) are underlined. The conserved leucine codon 3 of the jaguar deletion is boxed, and the two
nonsynonymous changes in the MC1R-
15 allele are marked with a double underline.
all other sampled felids regardless of their coloration the deletion (changing a CTG codon to ACG), and the
(Figure 2). substitutions result in a Leu/Thr replacement relative
We confirmed the dominant mode of inheritance of to the wild-type jaguar sequence at a codon that is
melanism in jaguars [3] by performing phenotype trans- otherwise conserved across mammals (Figure 1B). An
mission analysis in a 116-individual captive pedigree additional variable site was identified at position 825,
(see the Supplementary Material). Given the dominant where a synonymous T/C polymorphism was observed.
inheritance and the absence of the ASIP-
2 mutation The nondeleted alleles contained either C or T at this
in melanistic jaguars (Figure 2), we tested whether the position, whereas the surveyed MC1R-
15 alleles all
MC1R gene is implicated in jaguar melanism by ob- had a T at that site. A total of 46 jaguars differing in
taining its full coding sequence in several wild-type (yel- coloration phenotype were screened for their MC1R gelow
with dark rosettes) and black individuals. Melanistic notypes by using specific PCR primers designed to deanimalswere
found to carry at least one copy of amutant tect the deletion allele. Ten unrelated melanistic jaguars
MC1R sequence allele bearing a 15 bp (five-codon) in- were either homozygous or heterozygous for the MC1R-
frame deletion at positions 301–315 (Figure 1B). This
15 allele, whereas all 36 wild-type coloration jaguars
allele (designated MC1R-
15) displayed two nonsynon- (sampled from Mexico to southern Brazil [18]) were hoymous
nucleotide substitutions immediately adjacent to mozygous for the wild-type allele (p  0.001 for colorCurrent
Biology
450
Figure 2. Genotyping Results for the ASIP-

2 Deletion Allele Identified in Domestic Cats
The cladogram indicates evolutionary relationships
of species with melanistic forms included
in this study; thick branches on the
tree indicate major lineages in the Felidae
[19]. Only unrelated individuals from each
species were included. The number of melanistic
individuals assayed is given in parentheses
(see asterisk). Melanistic individuals
include black domestic cats from Botswana
(n 1), Brazil (n 10), Israel (n 5), Mongolia
(n  4), and USA (n  37) (see double asterisk);
USA black cats include random-bred individuals
as well as representatives of the
following breeds: Bombay, Maine Coon, Norwegian
Forest Cat, Cornish Rex, Turkish Van,
and Sphynx. The other Felidae include one
or two individuals from each of the following
cat species: black-footed cat (Felis nigripes),
sand cat (Felis margarita), lion (Panthera leo), tiger (Panthera tigris), snow leopard (Panthera uncia), clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa),
ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), puma (Puma concolor), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis), caracal (Caracal
caracal), African golden cat (Profelis aurata), and bobcat (Lynx rufus) (see triple asterisk). f [
2] represents the frequency of the ASIP-
2 allele
in each species; the domestic cat frequency was calculated exclusively from the nonmelanistic genotype frequencies, assuming Hardy-
Weinberg equilibrium.
genotype association using a dominant model, Figure
24), which removed 24 bp (8 codons) at a position
3). Transmission analysis in an eight-individual captive adjacent to, but distinct from, the deletion seen in the
jaguar pedigree demonstrated exact cosegregation be- jaguar MC1R-
15 allele, was discovered in jaguarundis
tween the deletion genotype and the melanistic pheno- (Figure 1B). The jaguar MC1R-
15 and the jaguarundi
type (see the Supplementary Material), supporting a MC1R-
24 deletions likely derive from independent mudominant
mode of inheritance mediated by the MC1R- tational events, given the sequence homology of adja-

15 allele. cent nucleotides, the fact that each species belongs to
Neither ASIP-
2 norMC1R-
15 were seen in a screen a separate lineage in the Felidae [19], and the persisof
29 jaguarundis that varied in coat color from very tence of nondeleted (ancestral) alleles in both of them
dark brown/gray to red (Figures 2 and 3). However, a (Figures 1B and 3). In addition to the presence of the
second in-frame deletion in MC1R (designated MC1R- deletion, the jaguarundi MC1R-
24 allele also differed
Figure 3. Genotyping Results for the Deletions Identified in the MC1R Gene of Jaguars and Jaguarundis
Only unrelated animals from each species were included. The tree on the left indicates phylogenetic relationships of species with melanistic
forms included in this study; thick branches on the tree indicate major lineages in the Felidae [19]. Alleles are coded as follows:
15 is the
jaguar deletion allele MC1R-
15,
24 is the jaguarundi deletion allele MC1R-
24,  indicates an ancestral-type (nondeleted) allele. The number
of melanistic individuals assayed is given in parentheses (see the asterisk). The other Felidae include one or two individuals from each of the
following cat species: Felis silvestris, Felis nigripes, Felis margarita, Panthera leo, Panthera tigris, Panthera uncia, Neofelis nebulosa, Leopardus
pardalis, Puma concolor, Acinonyx jubatus, Prionailurus bengalensis, Prionailurus planiceps, Caracal caracal, Profelis aurata, Lynx rufus,
Catopuma badia, and Leptailurus serval (see double asterisk). f [
15] and f [
24] are the frequencies of the MC1R-
15 and MC1R-
24 alleles,
respectively, calculated from the available sample for each species.
Brief Communication
451
Figure 4. Spatial Distribution of Melanistic
Mutations in MC1R
Partial diagram of the MC1R protein in the
jaguar (Panthera onca) MC1R-
15 allele and
the jaguarundi (Herpailurus yaguarondi)
MC1R-
24 allele, focusing on the region in
which deletions were identified in these variants.
The inset in the top left corner shows a
schematic view of the whole protein in the
melanocyte membrane, and the enlarged
segment is defined by an ellipse. The detailed
view starts in the first intracellular loop and
ends at the beginning of the third transmembrane
domain (residues 63–125 in the cat;
spatial arrangement adapted from [9], with
site numbers based on the cat sequence).
Circles bordered by a thick black line represent
amino acid residues conserved between
the mouse [9] and the deletion alleles shown
here; those with a thin blue border are different
in at least one of them (see the Supplementary
Material for full alignment). Amino
acids shaded in brown represent all of those
at which substitutions have been previously
reported to cause dominant melanistic phenotypes
in other species: S71L (Etob), E94K
(Eso-3J), and L100P (Eso) in the mouse [9] (E94K
has also been found in melanistic chickens
and bananaquits [22, 23]); L99P in cattle [17];
C125R in the red fox [11]; L99P and D121N
in the pig [14]; and M73K and D121N in sheep
[15]. The replacement S90G (in orange) is potentially
associated with melanism in the domestic
dog [16]. The hatched residues are
those that are deleted in melanistic jaguars
(horizontal pattern, deletion encompassed by dashed black line) and jaguarundis (vertical pattern, deletion encompassed by green dotted
line). Two residues (grid pattern) are included in both deletions under the alignment scheme shown in Figure 1B. Arrows indicate two residues
that are included in the jaguarundi MC1R-
24 deletion under an alternative alignment option (see Figure 1B and text).
from the ancestral-type sequence at three amino acid actually the ancestral-type presentation, based on its
positions (P22L, I63V, and Q310R; see the Supplemen- MC1R genotype.
tary Material). These substitutions may influence MC1R The results from this study strongly suggest that the
activity in the jaguarundi, but their conservative nature ASIP andMC1R deletions identified here have causative
(P22L, I63V) and/or the occurrence of identical or similar effects on the occurrence of melanism in three different
residues at homologous positions in other mammals Felidae species, although functional assays will be re-
(22L in cattle [17]; 310K in humans and mice [8, 9]) quired to directly establish the biological effects of these
suggest that their impact on the protein structure and variants. The ASIP-
2 deletion identified in the domestic
function is not as significant as that of the deletion itself. cat likely leads to complete loss of function, as the
Genotyping of the MC1R gene among 29 unrelated protein sequence is totally modified after that position
jaguarundis sampled across the geographic range of (Figure 1A and the Supplementary Material) and an early
the species (Mexico to Argentina) revealed widespread stop codon after residue 99 removesmost of the biologioccurrence
of the MC1R-
24 variant and a dramatic cally critical [20] C-terminal domain. Complete loss of
semidominant pattern of association with coat color function at ASIP has also been associated with reces-
(Figure 3). Individuals bearing the MC1R-
24 allele, and sively inherited extreme melanism in the mouse, rat, and
particularly those homozygous for it, were consistently horse [7, 12, 13].
darker than the ancestral-type homozygotes, which Distinct MC1R deletions identified in melanistic jagwere
exclusively red/reddish in coloration. Using a sim- uars and jaguarundis are associated with a dominant
plified dominant model (i.e., a 2  2 contingency table) or semidominant effect, respectively (Figures 1 and 3),
to allow statistical testing with the small available sam- similar to dominant “gain-of-function” melanistic MC1R
ple size, this association was found to be highly signifi- mutations reported for other mammals [9, 15]. Precant
(p  0.001, Fisher’s exact test). This significance viously described operative mutations in nonfelid speof
the association would be even higher under a semi- cies have been missense substitutions located in the
dominant model. These results implicate MC1R-
24 as same region of the gene (Figure 4), and they were shown
a derived melanistic variant responsible for jaguarundi or inferred to cause constitutive activation or increased
coat color polymorphism. Interestingly, the recessive basal signaling for eumelanin, likely due to conformareddish
color, which heretofore was considered as mu- tional changes [9, 11, 14, 17]. In-frame deletions in this
tant among jaguarundis due to its lower incidence, is region of MC1R have not been reported for any species,
Current Biology
452
and our results indicate that they can have a similar comprising 109 melanism meioses. This pedigree is a subset of the
effect on MC1R function. Under the alignment scheme Purina Pedigree, a 259-individual kindred of domestic cats that we
presented in Figure 1B, the observation that the jaguar have characterized and expanded for use in the construction of
reference linkage maps and in the study of coat color genes. Se-
MC1R-
15 and the jaguarundi MC1R-
24 deletions quencing of the ASIP coding region revealed a 2 bp deletion in black
overlap by two amino acids (101L, 102E) suggests a domestic cats, and a new primer set (containing a fluorescent label)
critical role for these residues inmediating MC1R inacti- was designed around its location to allow large-scale genotyping
vation. Additionally, the adjacent two amino acids (99L, of its presence.
100L) deleted in the jaguarundi MC1R have been pre- The MC1R coding region was sequenced in four melanistic and
viously implicated inmelanistic phenotypes inmice, cat- four nonmelanistic jaguars, as well as two jaguarundis of different
colorations. Cloning of the PCR products from melanistic jaguars
tle, and pigs (Figure 4), suggesting critical roles for these revealed that they carried a 15 bp deletion allele. Direct sequencing
residues as well. Under an alternative alignment of the jaguarundi MC1R revealed that the dark individual was homoscheme,
conserved residues 93L and 94E would have zygous for a 24 bp deletion adjacent to that found in melanistic
been deleted in this jaguarundi allele (instead of 101L, jaguars. A single fluorescent genotyping assay for both MC1R dele102E;
see Figures 1B and 4). In this case, the deletion tions was developed and applied to a broad sample of each species
would include three residues in which melanism-impli- and other felids.
cated substitutions have been previously identified in Supplementary Material
other species (Figure 4). Given the functional studies Supplementary Material including a detailed description of the Experformed
in other species [9, 15], we infer that these perimental Procedures (including all PCR primers and conditions),
deleted residues are important to maintain an inactive tables with all samples and genotypes included in this study, and
conformation of the MC1R protein, and/or they are criti- figureswith ASIP andMC1R alignments is available at http://images.
cal for binding of the antagonist peptide agouti (ASIP). cellpress.com/supmat/supmatin.htm.
The three distinctive melanistic deletions identified
Acknowledgments here appear to be species specific, as no other surveyed
felid was found to carry any of them (Figures 2 and 3). We thank T. Beck, W. Murphy, A. Roca, G. Bar-Gal, M. Dean, V.
The absence of these variants in melanistic individuals David, C. Driscoll, M. Roelke, L. Utz, W. Nash, E. Teeling, Y. Nishifrom
five other felid species (leopard [Panthera pardus], gaki, K. Newmann, R. Stephens, G. Pei, L. Wachter, M. Malasky, S.
Geoffroy’s cat [Oncifelis geoffroyi ], oncilla [Leopardus Cevario, J. Martenson, and A. Wilkerson for helpful discussions and
tigrinus], pampas cat [Lynchailurus colocolo], and Asian technical assistance. We thank G. Wilkinson, S. Mount, E. Baehrecke,
S. Tishkoff, S. Tanda, U. Mueller, M. Hare, and W. Stephan golden cat [Catopuma temmincki]) would suggest that for constructive advice during the development of this project. We
melanism arose independently at least four times in the are grateful to J. Maynard, EFBC’s Feline Conservation Center
family Felidae (the three deletions identified here and at (USA), D. Sana, R. Morato, R. Gasparini-Morato, Associac¸ a˜ o Pro´ -
least one additional origin for the remaining species) Carn´ıvoros (Brazil), P. Crawshaw Jr., L. Cullen, Instituto de Pesquiand
rose to high population-level frequencies in many sas Ecolo´ gicas (Brazil), T. Trigo, T. Freitas, C. Hilton, E. Saloma˜ o,
cases [1–3]. The elevation of independent gene variants R. Spindler,W. Swanson,M. Brown, N.Wiegand, C. Bolte,M. Culver,
A. Boldo, N. Sullivan, E. Rodrigues, M. Gomes, K. Nalewaik, N. in parallel Felidae lineages raises the possibility of an Huntzinger, P. Menotti, L. Lyons, and L. Garvey for help in obtaining
adaptive advantage of melanistic mutants under certain biological samples for this project. E.E. was supported by a fellowecological
circumstances. An interesting example is the ship from the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientı´fico e
jaguarundi, whose “wild-type” dark coloration is here Tecnolo´ gico (CNPq), Brazil.
shown to be a derived condition, having replaced the
ancestral reddish form throughout its continental range. Received: September 9, 2002
The prospect of directly inspecting gene variants that Revised: December 12, 2002
Accepted: January 24, 2003 specify phenotypic variation potentially subject to natu- Published: March 4, 2003
ral selection will allow the direct study of such traits in
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Accession Numbers
The DNA sequences reported here have been deposited in GenBank
(accession numbers AY237394–AY237399).

Пытаюсь тут статьишку о ней написать. Пока вот что получилось:

По сей день знания об азиатской золотистой кошке (Catopuma temminckii) к сожалению остаются весьма неудовлетворительными. А вместе данный вид являет собой очень красивое и интересное животное. Другое название этого удивительного хищника - кошка Темминка, что и отражено в его латинском названии.
Кошка Темминка представляет собой род Catopuma, который помимо неё включает в себя ещё один редкий вид - калимантанскую кошку (Catopuma badia). Несмотря на название, обитающая в Африке африканская золотистая кошка (Profelis aurata) не является близой родственницей азиатской золотистой кошки и представляет собой другой, монотипичный род Profelis.
Азиатская золотистая кошка имеет вытянутое мускулистое туловище, довольно толстые лапы и средней величины голову. Хвост средней длины, обычно не более 2/3 длины тела (Кузнецов, 2006). Цвет шерсти преимущественно рыжеватого цвета (от серо-жёлтого до серо-рыжего). На морде имеются две тёмные полосы от глаз до середины головы (Кузнецов, 2006). Череп с короткой лицевой частью. Затылочный гребень хорошо выражен. Носовые кости длинные. Заглазничные выросты лобной кости и скуловой дуги не полностью соединяются между собой (Кузнецов, 2006). Масса тема варьирует примерно от 9 до 16 кг. Размеры экземпляров (n=2) из Северного Вьетнама следующие: длина тела - 84-92 см; длина хвоста - 45-56 см; длина задней ступни - 16,5-18 см; высота ушной раковины - 6-6,2 см; масса тела - 12,3-16 кг (Кузнецов, 2006). Наибольшая длина черепа - 128-177 мм (Фам,1992). Зубная формула: I 3/3; C 1/1; Pm 2-3/2; M 1/1 x 2 = 28-30. Число хромосом - 2n = 38 (Кузнецов, 2006).

Со временем инфу добавлю и немного изменю текст.

Хорошее начало. А ареал у нее какой и родственные связи?

Угу, т.е. группа азиатских золотистых отчетливо выделяется и более ни к каким другим фелинам ее не привяжешь. Китай???? - Круто. Не знал. Странно, что она в Индию не заходит.

По некоторым данным ареал заходит на юго-восток Китая и северо-восток Индии. И вот ещё информация по размножению: http://sch714-wildcat.narod.ru/asia.html

В конце марта - начале апреля самка устраивает логово в какой-нибудь расщелине между скал, в пещерке, под корнем вывороченного дерева. Там появляются у нее от двух до четырех котят. Их количество зависит от обилия корма: много его в данный год - котят больше, мало корма котят меньше, они, слабее, медленнее развиваются, плохо выживают.
Котята рождаются слепыми. Через некоторое время они обрастают коричневой шерстью. Слепые малыши очень похожи на домашних котят, только больше их. Время от времени заботливая мать вытаскивает котят из темной норы. Они должны принять солнечные ванны. Мать внимательно следит, чтобы малыши не перегрелись. Если это случается, котята поднимают жалобный писк, и она немедленно утаскивает их в нору.

Вычитал, что срок беременности длится около 75 дней. В других источниках указывается, что к размножению кошки Темника приступают в начале зимы, а в феврале рождаются котята. Хотя вероятно это как-то приурочено к условиям обитания в том или ином месте.

Отредактировано Unenlagia (10 July 2010 03:39:36)

Так она не пантерина!

Базальный вид пантерин - барс. Дымчатый слишком специализирован.

Переодичность менструаций у самки 39 дней. И в случае, если во время первой течки она не забеременеет, то через 39 дней есть возможность опять зачать потомство. У них нет цикличности размножения, вот и все.

Вот ещё отчёт о азиатских золотистых кошках в Таиланде (сентябрь 2005), включающий также численность популяции в различных регионах и оценку жизнеспособности в среде обитания.
Ранний репродуктивный возраст для самок - 2 года, для самцов - 3. Максимальный репродуктивный возраст - 13 лет.
Asiatic Golden Cat in Thailand (Population & Habitat Viability Assessment)

Отредактировано Unenlagia (10 July 2010 20:17:50)

Азиатская золотистая кошка в Таиланде - http://www.cbsg.org/cbsg/workshopreport … report.pdf

Усурийский или дальневосточный кот - его еще как называют т.е. он является подвидом кого то или это самостоятельный вид?
Просто очень он похож на азиатскую золотистую.