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MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND AFFINITIES OF THE CHINESE MOUNTAIN CAT, Felis bieti PRELIMINARY REPORT December 2000 ROSA GARCÍA-PEREA Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid, Spain
Among the activities proposed to conduct this project was a trip to China to study a sample as large as possible of collection specimens and/or alive individuals of this species, as well as to collect information about the distribution and status of the species. The trip was carried out from October 21 to November 7 (2000), and the following institutions were visited: - Institute of Zoology, Beijing (IZB)
A total sample of 38 specimens (see Table 1) were identified as Felis bieti and examined, 8 of them kept alive in captivity. Only 3 of these specimens were skulls, and one of them is being prepared now at Madrid for its study. In addition to these individuals of Chinese mountain cat, several specimens of Felis silvestris, ornata group (Asiatic wildcat), as well as Otocolobus manul (Palla’s cat) and Felis chaus (Jungle cat) were examined for comparative purposes. Below is a complete list of the specimens studied, using the initials described above for the institutions: Table 1. Specimens of Chinese mountain cat and other Asiatic felids studied in Chinese institutions in October-November 2000. Figures in cells represent number of specimens studied; in brackets, number of skulls (SK), skins (SN), or alive individuals (AL).
Some information about distribution records of Chinese mountain cat was gathered during this trip, although Prof. Wei Fuwen is checking the Chinese scientific literature, specially local publications by institutions at province level, in order to get a global picture of the distribution of this cat. Reports need to be carefully evaluated, since small wild cats seem not to be well known by local people. Additional specimens of these species and other related, previously studied, are being used for comparative purposes, in order to elaborate the final conclusions.
As usual, a relative age (juvenile, subadult, adult) was assigned to each skull, and 20 skull and teeth measurements were recorded. In addition, 119 morphological characters were checked on each bieti skull, for recording the character states present in the sample. Variables measured are commonly used for carnivores, and have been used for felids in previous works (e.g. García-Perea, 1994, 1999). Characteristics of color and pattern of skins were recorded, in order to describe individual variation within the species, and to compare to other related species. Labels and other documents of these specimens were checked looking for information on the five external measurements usually recorded in mammals (weight, head+body length, tail length, hindfoot length, ear length). RESULTS Table 2 shows the values of the most characteristic variables measured on the two only skulls studied. A third skull is being prepared right now, and although it is broken in its occipital area, most anatomical characteristics are visible, and a large number of metrical variables can be recorded. The two skulls studied were adult, so could not get information about ontogenetic changes for Chinese mountain cat, but these skulls are trustable for comparison among species. Cranial measurements and qualitative characters observed on these two skulls were good enough to identify them as Felis bieti, since the paper published by Lönnberg (1926) made a careful description of the only skull occurring in western museums (Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm), and provided several key characters to differentiate this species from others closely related (F. chaus, O. manul). Most skins had large dimensions, and there were no skulls associated to them, so it was impossible to study any ontogenetic change on them. Very few labels showed data on external measurements, although some of them were recorded on skins with the aim to find relationships between tail length and head+body length. Table 2. Values (in mm) of 20 skull and teeth variables measured on two adult specimens of F. bieti studied in Chinese collections in October 2000.
PRELIMINARY CONCLUSIONS The Chinese mountain cat is a moderately sized felid, somewhat larger than the largest specimens of the Felis silvestris group. Cranial characteristics are similar to those of Felis silvestris group, showing a wide braincase an enlarged auditory bullae. The coat pattern shows several degrees of markings. Lack of knowledge about this degree of variation has led to misidentifications with specimens of F. s. ornata group, and the distribution range of the Chinese mountain cat needs to be reviewed on the basis of correct identification of records. Felis bieti is a good species included in the genus Felis, but showing some primitive characters that could be misleading about its relationships. The presence in Felis bieti of characters found in Prionailurus, Lynx, F. chaus or O. manul, suggests that this species could represent an ancient lineage, keeping a large amount of primitive characters shared with pantherines.
Thanks to Kristin Nowell, Director of Cat Action Treasury, for supporting this project and providing the necessary funds to carry out the trip to China as well as to conduct this study. Thanks also to Prof. Wei Fuwen and the Institute of Zoology at Beijing (Chinese Academy of Sciences) for providing the support necessary to open the different Chinese institutions visited to me. Peter Jackson cooperated in the search for information related to this study. The cooperation of the people in charge of the different collections consulted was fundamental, and I am indebted to Zhang Chunguang (Institute of Zoology, Beijing), the curator of the North West Plateau Institute of Biology (Xining), Wu Guosheng (Wildlife SavingCenter of Tibetan Plateau, Xining), the zookeeper of Xining Zoo (Xining), Zhang Yingmei (Lanzhou University, Lanzhou), Professor Hu Jinchu (Nanchong University, Nanchong), the zookeeper of Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Center (Chengdu), and a long list of technicians who gifted us with their kindness. REFERENCES Birula, A. 1917. De Felibus asiaticus duabus novis. Ann. Mus. Zool. Acad. Sc. Petrograd, 21, Itinéraires, Nouvelles et Faits divers: 1-2. García-Perea, R. 1994. The pampas cat group (genus Lynchailurus Severtzov, 1858) (Carnivora, Felidae), a systematic and biogeographic review. American Museum Novitates, 3096: 1-35. García-Perea, R. 1999. A morphological guide to differentiate Andean Mountain Cats, Oreailurus jacobita, and Pampas cats, genus Lynchailurus, from the Andean altiplano. Final report to Cat Action Treasury. 70 pp + 24 pls. Lönnberg, E. 1926. Notes on some cats from eastern Asia with description of a new subgenus. Arkiv för Zoologi, 18 A(2): 1-22. Milne-Edwards, A. 1892. Observations sur les Mammifčres du Thibet. Rév. Gén. Scien. Pűres et Appliqués, 30: 670-672. Nowell, K. and P. Jackson. 1996. Wild Cats. Status, survey and conservation action plan. IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group. Gland, 382 pp.
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METHODOLOGY OF STUDY
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS