Page 13 - American Jaguar; Big Cats, Biogeography, and Human Borders
P. 13
through vast changes. During various ice ages, huge sheets of ice
flowed across North America, carving out lake and river basins
and scouring the landscape to create vast plains. Earth cooled
considerably, and the thick tropical jungles that had once covered
North America faded away, replaced by temperate forests, plains,
swamps, and deserts.
At about that time, Homo sapiens moved into North America,
migrating along the same land bridges as earlier mammals. Hunting
by these first humans likely
Lion Panthera leo
Felidae Evolutionary Tree Leopard Panthera pardus contributed to the extinction
Panthera ancestor Jaguar Panthera onca of the continent’s largest,
Tiger Panthera tigris
6.4 MYA Snow leopard Panthera uncia slow-moving mammals.
Clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa
Bornean clouded leopard Neofelis diardi A changing climate also
Felid Bay cat ancestor impacted the animals’
ancestor 5.41 MYA Asian golden cat Pardofelis temminckii
Bornean bay cat Pardofelis badia ability to survive. As a
Marbled cat Pardofelis marmorata
10.8 result of human hunters
MYA Caracal Caracal caracal
Caracal ancestor and changes in climate and
5.6 MYA African golden cat Caracal aurata
9.4 MYA Serval Leptailurus serval the environment, nearly 75
Geoffroy’s cat Leopardus geoffroyi percent of all large mammals
Ocelot ancestor Kodkod Leopardus guigna
2.9 MYA Oncilla Leopardus tigrinus in North America died out.
8.5 MYA Andean mountain cat Leopardus jacobita One by one, all the ancient
Pampas cat Leopardus colocolo
Margay Leopardus wiedii
Ocelot Leopardus pardalis
Lynx ancestor This diagram shows how
8.0 MYA 3.2 MYA Iberian lynx Lynx pardinus
Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx all species of cats descend
Canada lynx Lynx canadensis from a common ancestor,
Bobcat Lynx rufus which existed some eleven
Puma ancestor Puma Puma concolor million years ago. This
7.2 MYA 4.9 MYA Jaguarundi Puma yagouaroundi common ancestor gradually
Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus evolved into several
Asian leopard cat Prionailurus bengalensis different species, including
6.7 MYA Fishing cat Prionailurus viverrinus the common ancestor of
Flat-headed cat Prionailurus planiceps lions, tigers, and jaguars.
Rusty-spotted cat Prionailurus rubiginosus Although this diagram
Leopard cat ancestor Pallas’s cat Otocolobus manul
5.9 MYA excludes some species
6.2 MYA
Domestic cat Felis catus and subspecies, biologists
Wildcat Felis silvestris believe this to be an accurate
Domestic cat ancestor Sand cat Felis margarita depiction of the evolution of
3.4 MYA Black-footed cat Felis nigripes all known felines.
Jungle cat Felis chaus
12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Today
Millions of years ago (MYA) RULER OF THE SKY ISLANDS 15