Margay

Margay
Margay in Costa Rica
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Felinae
Genus: Leopardus
Species:
L. wiedii[1]
Binomial name
Leopardus wiedii[1]
(Schinz, 1821)
Subspecies
  • L. w. wiedii (Schinz, 1821)
  • L. w. vigens (Thomas, 1904)
  • L. w. glauculus (Thomas, 1903)
Distribution of the margay, 2015[2]
Synonyms
  • Felis wiedii

The margay (Leopardus wiedii) is a small wild cat native to Mexico, Central and South America. A solitary and nocturnal felid,[3] it lives mainly in primary evergreen and deciduous forest.[4]

Until the 1990s, margays were hunted for the wildlife trade, at which point the killing of the species was outlawed in most countries; however, years of persecution resulted in a notable population decrease.[5] Since 2008, the margay has been listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, as the population is thought to be declining due to loss of habitat and deforestation.[2]

The scientific name Felis wiedii was used by Heinrich Rudolf Schinz in 1821 in his first scientific description of the margay, named in honour of Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied, who collected specimens in Brazil.[6]

  1. ^ Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Species Leopardus wiedii". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 539–540. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. ^ a b c d de Oliveira, T.; Paviolo, A.; Schipper, J.; Bianchi, R.; Payan, E. & Carvajal, S.V. (2015). "Leopardus wiedii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T11511A50654216. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T11511A50654216.en. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  3. ^ Petersen, M. K. (1977). "Behaviour of the margay". In R. L. Eaton (ed.). The world's cats, Vol. 3 (2). Seattle: Carnivore Research Institute, University of Washington. pp. 69–76.
  4. ^ Bisbal, F. J. (1989). "Distribution and habitat association of the carnivores in Venezuela". In K. H. Redford and J. F. Eisenberg (ed.). Advances in neotropical mammalogy. Gainesville: Sandhill Crane Press. pp. 339–362. ISBN 187774302X. OL 2191814M.
  5. ^ Aranda, J. M. (1991). "Wild mammal skin trade in Chiapas, Mexico". In Robinson, J. G.; Redford, K. H. (eds.). Neotropical wildlife use and conservation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 174–177.
  6. ^ Schinz, H. R. (1821). "Wiedische Katze Felis wiedii". Das Thierreich eingetheilt nach dem Bau der Thiere: als Grundlage ihrer Naturgeschichte und der vergleichenden Anatomie von dem Herrn Ritter von Cuvier. Säugethiere und Vögel, Volume 1. Stuttgart, Tübingen: Cotta. pp. 235–236.