The Evolution of Cats
Where cats came from
What is Evolution?
- Over-production
- Inherited Variation
- Struggle to Survive
- Successful Reproduction
The Cat that we know
The Cat's Family
The average house cat is part of the Felidae species. In this species, there are 2 living subfamilies. Pantherinae consists of jaguars, lions, leopards, and tigers, and Felinae consists of cougars, cheetahs, lynxes, ocelots, and house cats.Scientists believe that all these animals are related to the cat due to their genetic makeup, and just that fact that they look so similar. Mostly the nose, and head shape. There is on subfamily however, that does not roam the earth anymore. That is the Machairodontinae. Machairodontinae consists of the Smilodon, AKA the Saber Toothed Tiger.
The Long Lost Subfamily
The Smilodon is known for its canines. Canines are the two pointy teeth at each side of its upper gum. Paleontologists and scientists estimate that it lived in the Pleistocene epoch which was about 2.5 million years ago-10,000 years ago. Even though smilodon lived quite a long time ago, that doesn’t mean that that was the original cat.
Cat's True Ancestor?
Scientists say that all modern carnivorans, including cats, evolved from miacoidea which existed approximately 66 to 33 million years ago. Miacoidea species led to the rise of Proailurus (meaning “first cat”), which appeared about 30 million years ago, and is generally considered the first “true cat.”
The Cat Gap
There is a period of time called the “cat gap” in the fossil record, about 25 to 18.5 million years ago, where there were few cat or cat-like fossils found in North America. So if you look for a cat fossil record, most likely, it will say that it is incomplete.