Prionailurus bengalensis (Kerr 1792)

[Felis] bengalensis Kerr 1792, in: Linnaeus, Anim. Kingdom, Vol. 1: 151.

Type Locality: "Bengal" [India].

Vernacular Names: Leopard Cat.

Subspecies::

Subspecies Prionailurus bengalensis subsp. bengalensis Kerr 1792

Subspecies Prionailurus bengalensis subsp. alleni Sody 1949

Subspecies Prionailurus bengalensis subsp. borneoensis Brongersma 1936

Subspecies Prionailurus bengalensis subsp. chinensis Gray 1837

Subspecies Prionailurus bengalensis subsp. euptilurus Elliot 1871

Subspecies Prionailurus bengalensis subsp. heaneyi Groves 1997

Subspecies Prionailurus bengalensis subsp. horsfieldii Gray 1842

Subspecies Prionailurus bengalensis subsp. javanensis Desmarest 1816

Subspecies Prionailurus bengalensis subsp. rabori Groves 1997

Subspecies Prionailurus bengalensis subsp. sumatranus Horsfield 1821

Subspecies Prionailurus bengalensis subsp. trevelyani Pocock 1939

Distribution: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia (Far East), Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, and Vietnam.

Conservation: CITES – Appendix I as P. b. bengalensis (populations of India, Bangladesh, and Thailand); otherwise Appendix II; U.S. ESA – Endangered as P. b. bengalensis; IUCN – Least Concern.

Discussion: Includes euptilurus following G. M. Allen (1939) and Gao (1987). Heptner (1971) and Gromov and Baranova (1981) considered euptilurus a distinct species; however, Gao (1987) pointed out that Heptner compared Russian specimens with those from SE Asia, whereas when intervening Chinese populations are included, his distinctions do not hold. Includes minuta following Chasen (1940). Excludes iriomotensis (see comments below). Synonyms allocated according to Ellerman and Morrison-Scott (1951) and Groves (1997 b).