Catopuma

Catopuma is a genus of the Felidae containing two small cat species native to Southeast Asia, the Asian golden cat (C. temminckii) and the bay cat (C. badia).^[1] Both have similar pelage, with solid reddish brown coloration on their backs and darker markings on the head. They also exhibit colour morphs ranging from various browns to gray to black.^[2][3] The Asian golden cat occurs from northeast India to Sumatra, and the bay cat lives only on Borneo. Both inhabit forested areas.^[4][5]

Catopuma
Bay cat (C. badia) and Asian golden cat (C. temminckii)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Feliformia
Family:	Felidae
Subfamily:	Felinae
Genus:	Catopuma Severtzov, 1858
Type species
Felis temminckii[1] (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827)
Synonyms
Badiofelis Pocock, 1932

The closest living relative of Catopuma is the marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata), from which the common ancestor of Catopuma genetically diverged around 9.4 million years ago.^[6] The Asian golden cat and bay cat diverged from one another approximately 3.16 million years ago, before Borneo separated from the neighboring islands.^[2]

Taxonomy

The name Catopuma was proposed by Nikolai Severtzov in 1858 with Felis moormensis as type species, which was described by Brian Houghton Hodgson.^[7][8]

Genus Catopuma – Severtzov, 1858 – two species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Asian golden cat	Catopuma temminckii[9] (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827) Two subspecies C. t. temminckii occurs in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula[1] C. t. moormensis Hodgson, 1831[8] occurs from eastern Nepal to China and Cambodia[1]	Sri Lanka, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and southeast Asia	Size: Habitat: Diet:	VU  [4]
Bay cat	Catopuma badia[10] (Gray, 1874)	island of Borneo	Size: Habitat: Diet:	EN