Abstract
The leopard cat, Prionailurus bengalensis (Kerr, 1792), is one of the most widespread Asian cats, occurring in continental eastern and southeastern Asia. Since 1929, several studies have focused on the morphology, ecology, and taxonomy of leopard cats. Nevertheless, hitherto there has been no agreement on basic aspects of leopard cat biology, such as the presence or absence of sexual dimorphism, morphological skull and body differences between the eleven recognized subspecies, and the biogeography of the different morphotypes. Twenty measurements on 25 adult leopard cat skulls from different Asian localities were analyzed through univariate and multivariate statistical approaches. Skull and external body measurements from studies over the last 77 years were assembled and organized in two categories: full data and summary data. Most of this database comprises small samples, which have never been statistically tested and compared with each other. Full data sets were tested with univariate and multivariate statistical analyses; summary data sets (i.e., means, SDs, and ranges) were analyzed through suitable univariate approaches. The independent analyses of the data from these works confirmed our original results and improved the overview of sexual dimorphism and geographical morphological variation among subspecies. Continental leopard cats have larger skulls and body dimensions. Skulls of Indochinese morphotypes have broader and higher features than those of continental morphotypes, while individuals from the Sunda Islands have skulls with comparatively narrow and low profiles. Cranial sexual dimorphism is present in different degrees among subspecies. Most display subtle sex-related variations in a few skull features. However, in some cases, sexual dimorphism in skull morphology is absent, such as in P. b. sumatranus and P. b. borneoensis. External body measurement comparisons also indicate the low degree of sexual dimorphism. Apart from the gonads, the longer hind foot of male leopard cats is the main feature of sexual dimorphism among P. b. bengalensis (and probably among P. b. horsfieldii too). External body measurements also indicated the absence of sexual dimorphism among individuals of P. b. borneoensis. Inter-subspecific skull comparisons provided a morphometric basis for differentiating some subspecies. Prionailurus b. horsfieldii and P. b. bengalensis were distinguished only by a subtle difference in PM4 size, indicating that overall skull morphology does not appear to support their separate taxonomical status, in spite of the marked differences reported in their coat patterns. Geological events affecting the Sunda Shelf connection between the Sunda Islands and the mainland during the Last Glacial Maximum seem to have influenced directly the morphological pattern shown by leopard cat subspecies nowadays.
Highlights
The leopard cat, Prionailurus bengalensis (Kerr, 1792), has a wide distribution in southern and southeastern continental Asia, as well as in the Sunda Islands and the Philippines
In Chinese individuals (♀n = 3, ♂n = 5), significant differences were found between the sexes in mastoid breadth (MB), Zygomatic arches internal breadth (ZIB), Masseteric fossa length (MFL), and once again Masseter moment arm (MMA), indicating that male leopard cats have a slightly larger skull than females
Leopard cat morphology was analyzed by means of the largest database assembled to date
Summary
The leopard cat, Prionailurus bengalensis (Kerr, 1792), has a wide distribution in southern and southeastern continental Asia, as well as in the Sunda Islands and the Philippines. It is found in more northerly regions such as the Amur basin, Korea and the Japanese islands (Sunquist & Sunquist, 2002). Leopard cats from the Amur, for instance, are reported to be larger than those from southeastern Asian and island populations (Guggisberg, 1975; Heptner & Sludskii, 1992). The IUCN Red List (Sanderson et al, 2008) classified P. bengalensis as a “least concern” species. Rabori, cited as “vulnerable” (Lorica, 2008) and P. b. Due to deforestation, habitat alteration, and the economic value of its exuberantly spotted pelage, some subspecies face a more worrying future, such as P. b. rabori, cited as “vulnerable” (Lorica, 2008) and P. b. iriomotensis, classed as “critically endangered” (Izawa, 2008)
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