The evolution of the clouded leopard
January 25, 2011 in NEWS by Suzanne Elvidge
The Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi) is the world’s newest cat. This beautiful cat lives on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, and was recognised as a new species in 2007, when genetic analysis showed it to have separated from the mainland clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) population around 1.4 million years ago. However, new research shows that it’s not as simple as that.
Bornean Clouded Leopard (Neofelis diardi). Photo taken at the lower Kinabatangan River, eastern Sabah, Malaysia - www.photosbypaulo.com
The Sunda clouded leopards have lived as two separate populations on the two islands since after last Ice Age, when sea levels rose and the islands were no longer connected with glacial land bridges. Research, published in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, shows that the two groups have evolved into two separate subspecies, known as Neofelis diardi borneensis (Borneo) and Neofelis diardi diardi (Sumatra). While the two groups of cats look very similar, there are differences in their skulls and teeth.
The Bornean and Sumatran sub-species are recognised by the IUCN as endangered, and the authors see this classification and recognition as ‘of utmost importance for conservation and management purposes’.
This article is included in the Carnival of Evolution No. 32 – http://tinyurl.com/4auskmm
could you please update more information for me to help with my assignment. with thanks nikita mccarthy
I’m not sure what information you need – if you go to the paper about the genome (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790310004306) you can contact the author, If you want to know more about clouded leopards, try contacting the Clouded Leopard project (http://www.cloudedleopard.org/)