:Caracal (genus)
{{Short description|Genus of carnivores}}
{{Other uses|Caracal (disambiguation)}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Caracal
| image = Caracal genus.png
| image_caption = African golden cat (C. aurata)
Caracal (C. caracal)
| taxon = Caracal
| authority = Gray, 1843
| synonyms =
| range_map =
| range_map_caption =
| type_species = Caracal melanotis{{MSW3 Carnivora |id=14000013 |page=533 |heading=Genus Carcal}}
| type_species_authority = Gray, 1843
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = See text
}}
Caracal is a genus in the subfamily Felinae of the family Felidae. It was proposed by John Edward Gray in 1843 who described a skin from the Cape of Good Hope in the collection of the Natural History Museum, London.{{cite book |author=Gray, J. E. |year=1843 |title=List of the specimens of Mammalia in the collection of the British Museum |location=London |publisher=The Trustees of the British Museum |page=46 |chapter=The Caracal |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/listofspecimenso00brit_0/page/150/mode/1up}} Historically, it was considered to be a monotypic genus, consisting of only the type species: the caracal C. caracal.
Taxonomy
Phylogenetic analysis revealed that caracal, African golden cat (C. aurata) and serval (Leptailurus serval) are genetically closely related forming a genetic lineage that diverged from the common ancestor of the Felidae {{mya|7.91|4.14}}.{{Cite journal |doi=10.1126/science.1122277|title=The Late Miocene Radiation of Modern Felidae: A Genetic Assessment|year=2006|last1=Johnson|first1=W. E.|journal=Science |volume=311 |issue=5757|pages=73–7|last2=Eizirik|first2=E.|last3=Pecon-Slattery |first3=J. |last4=Murphy|first4=W.J. |last5=Antunes|first5=A. |last6=Teeling|first6=E. |last7=O'Brien|first7=S.J. |pmid=16400146 |bibcode=2006Sci...311...73J |s2cid=41672825 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1230866}} This taxonomic classification is used in the IUCN Red List for the African golden cat.{{cite iucn |author=Bahaa-el-din, L. |author2=Mills, D. |author3=Hunter, L. |author4=Henschel, P. |year=2015 |title=Caracal aurata |page=e.T18306A50663128 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T18306A50663128.en}} It is used as a synonym for the serval.{{cite iucn |author=Thiel, C. |year=2019 |amends=2015 |title=Leptailurus serval |page=e.T11638A156536762 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T11638A156536762.en}}
{{Species table |genus=Caracal |authority-name= Gray |authority-year=1843 |species-count=two|no-note=y|narrow-percent=75}}
{{Species table/row
|name= Caracal|binomial=Caracal caracal
|image=File:Caracal hunting in the serengeti.jpg |image-size=180px |image-alt=
|authority-name=Schreber |authority-year= 1776 |authority-not-original=yes
|range=
|range-image=File:Caracal_Geographical_Range.svg
|range-image-size=180px
|size=
|habitat=
|hunting=
|iucn-status= NT
|direction=
|subspecies={{Collapsible list |expand=yes |title=Three subspecies |bullets=on
| Southern caracal (C. c. caracal) {{small|(Schreber, 1776)}}
| Northern caracal (C. c. nubicus) {{small|(Fischer, 1829)}}{{cite book |last1=Fischer |first1=J. B. |year=1829 |title=Synopsis Mammalium |location=Stuttgart |publisher=J. G. Cottae |page=210 |chapter=F. caracal Schreb. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_no-AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA210}}
| Asiatic caracal (C. c. schmitzi) {{small|(Matschie, 1912)}}
}}
}}
{{Species table/row
|name= African golden cat|binomial=Caracal aurata
|image=File:Caracal aurata 2.jpg |image-size=180px |image-alt=
|authority-name=Temminck |authority-year= 1823 |authority-not-original=yes
|range=
|range-image=File:AfricanGoldenCat distribution.jpg
|range-image-size=180px
|size=
|habitat=
|hunting=
|iucn-status= VU
|direction=
|subspecies={{Collapsible list |expand=yes |title=Two subspecies |bullets=on
|C. a. aurata (Temminck, 1827)
|C. a. celidogaster (Temminck, 1827)
}}
}}
{{Species table/end}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Carnivora|Fe.}}
{{Feliformia|Fel.|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2937805}}
Category:Taxa named by John Edward Gray
{{Feline-stub}}