Cats and Dogs

Clades for cats and dogs.

Introduction

This post presents simple ascii clade-style trees for Canidae (dogs) and Felidae (cats), including some extinct genera. The symbol † identifies an extinct group.

Feliformia → Felidae covering cats and relatives

Feliformia
├── Hyaenidae                      ← hyenas
├── Herpestidae                    ← mongooses
├── Viverridae                     ← civets, genets
└── Felidae (cats)
    ├── †Proailurus                ← earliest known cat (~25 Mya)
    ├── †Pseudaelurus              ← Miocene cats (~20–9 Mya)
    ├── Pantherinae (big cats)
    │   ├── Panthera leo           ← lion
    │   ├── Panthera tigris        ← tiger
    │   ├── Panthera pardus        ← leopard (black panther = melanistic form)
    │   ├── Panthera onca          ← jaguar (black panther = melanistic form)
    │   └── Panthera uncia         ← snow leopard
    └── Felinae (small/medium cats)
        ├── Puma concolor          ← cougar
        ├── Acinonyx jubatus       ← cheetah
        ├── Lynx spp.              ← lynxes
        ├── Caracal caracal        ← caracal
        ├── †Homotherium           ← "scimitar cat"
        ├── †Smilodon              ← saber-toothed cat
        └── Felis
            ├── Felis silvestris   ← wildcat
            └── Felis catus        ← domestic cat

Where are pathers? The term “panther” is a bit of a vernacular mess and it doesn’t refer to a separate species or genus. “Panther” usually means a black leopard (Panthera pardus, melanistic) or a black jaguar (Panthera onca, melanistic).

Caniformia → Canidae covering dogs and relatives

Carnivora
└── Caniformia
    ├── Ursidae                         ← bears
    ├── Pinnipedia                      ← seals, sea lions
    ├── Mustelidae                      ← weasels, otters
    └── Canidae
        ├── †Hesperocyon                ← early ancestral canid (~37 Mya)
        ├── †Leptocyon                  ← transitional genus (~25–10 Mya)
        ├── †Borophaginae               ← "bone-crushing dogs" (~34–2 Mya)
        └── Caninae (modern canids)
            ├── Urocyon                 ← gray fox
            ├── Vulpini (fox-like canines)
            │   └── Vulpes              ← red fox, arctic fox, etc.
            └── Canini (dog-like canines)
                ├── †Eucyon             ← small ancestral wild dogs (~10 Mya)
                ├── Cuon                ← dhole
                ├── Lycaon              ← African wild dog
                └── Canis
                    ├── Canis lupus     ← gray wolf
                    │   └── Canis lupus familiaris ← domestic dog
                    ├── Canis latrans   ← coyote
                    ├── Canis aureus    ← golden jackal
                    └── †Canis dirus    ← dire wolf