Himalayan jungle cat | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Carnivora |
Family: | Felidae |
Genus: | Felis |
Species: | F. chaus |
Subspecies: | F. c. affinis |
Trinomial name | |
Felis chaus affinis Gray, 1830 |
Himalayan jungle cat (Felis chaus affinis) is a subspecies of the jungle cat that inhabits the Himalayan region ranging from Kashmir and Nepal to Sikkim and Yunnan.
Thomas Hardwicke’s collection of illustrations of Indian wildlife comprises the first drawing of a Himalayan jungle cat, which the British zoologist John Edward Gray named the "Allied cat" Felis affinis in 1830.
In the 1930s, the British zoologist Pocock reviewed the Natural History Museum's jungle cat skins and skulls from British India and adjacent countries. Based mainly on differences in fur length and colour he subordinated the Himalayan specimens to Felis chaus affinis.