Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to Carnivora. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Sand Cat - Felis margarita
Topic Started: Jan 7 2012, 08:11 PM (4,523 Views)
Taipan
Member Avatar
Administrator

Sand Cat - Felis margarita

Posted Image

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Genus: Felis
Species: Felis margarita

Posted Image

Subspecies
There are six subspecies of the Sand cat:
Felis margarita margarita, North Africa, from Algeria to Arabia
Felis margarita airensis, Niger
Felis margarita harrisoni, Arabian Peninsula
Felis margarita meinertzhageni, Sahara
Felis margarita thinobia, Caspian Sea area (Iran, Turkmenistan)
Felis margarita scheffeli, Pakistan
Posted Image

The Sand cat (Felis margarita), also referred to as the "sand dune cat", is a small wild cat distributed over African and Asian deserts. The name "desert cat" is reserved for Felis silvestris lybica, the African wildcat, but it could be appropriate for this species. It lives in those arid areas that are too hot and dry even for the desert cat: the Sahara, the Arabian Desert, and the deserts of Iran and Pakistan. It lives for about 13 years in captivity.

Posted Image

Physical characteristics
The Sand cat's length averages almost 50 cm (20 in), plus a 30 cm (12 in) tail. The average weight of a sand cat is 2.7 kg (6 lbs). Their heads are conspicuously broad, and their ears are large, pointed, and widely spaced to the point they can be flattened horizontally or even pointing down (this aids in hunting). The colour of the fur is a pale sandy yellow, with pallid bars, which are sometimes hardly visible. Generally the bars are more visible in the African subspecies. The mucosa of their eyelids is a striking black. Their paws are covered with long hairs that allow it to tolerate and easily maneuver the hot sand of its environment. The sand cat can survive in temperatures ranging from −5 °C (23 °F) to 52 °C (126 °F).

Posted Image

Habitat and behavior
Sand cats live solitarily (until mating season; see below), digging burrows to escape the desert heat, and come out after dusk to hunt rodents, lizards, birds and insects, although their diet may consist mostly of rodents. They "skulk" close to the ground and will use any available cover to protect themselves. Using their large ears they listen for prey, digging rapidly when they hear it underground. Since the sand cat obtains all the water it needs from eating its prey, it mostly stays far away from watering points where other predators may harm it. Sand cats congregate only for mating so numbering them is a difficult task. It seems however that their numbers have been declining in the Arabian desert following a rarefaction of their prey.

Posted Image

Threats to the Sand cat include humans, wolves, snakes, and raptors. Although solitary animals, sand cats do not have their own territories like tigers or bobcats, and may even "take turns" over burrows with others.

Conservation
Hunting this cat is prohibited in Algeria, Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, Mauritania, Niger, Pakistan and Tunisia. No legal protection is offered by the following countries: Egypt, Mali, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates.

Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Taipan
Member Avatar
Administrator

Predation on Vipers

Posted Image
Wild cats of the world By Melvin E. Sunquist, Fiona Sunquist
Edited by Taipan, May 21 2012, 09:43 PM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
HerpestidaeB4Cat
Member Avatar
Herbivore
[ *  *  *  * ]
wow that is amazing i didnt realize cats could kill poisonous snakes i didnt realize they would even try
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Ceph
Member Avatar
Piscivore

They don't kill poisonous snakes, to my knowledge, there aren't any poisonous snakes.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Inhumanum Rapax
Member Avatar
Parabola Vita
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
^ while sand cats don't kill poisonous snakes there certainly are poisonous snakes in existence for example, snakes in the genus rhabdophis secrete poison and certain garter snakes in Oregon can secrete poison they get by eating rough skinned newts.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Ceph
Member Avatar
Piscivore

I had never heard about rhabdophis being poisonous. That's pretty neat! I'm going to have to look into this, I'm curious about their toxicity.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Inhumanum Rapax
Member Avatar
Parabola Vita
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
Here's a little something that explains it if you have trouble finding info! Link
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
ZetaBoards - Free Forum Hosting
Enjoy forums? Start your own community for free.
« Previous Topic · Feline · Next Topic »
Add Reply