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Order : CARNIVORA
Family : Felidae
Species : Pardofelis marmorata
Head-body length : up to 53 cm
Tail length : up to 55 cm
Weight : up to 5 kg
The Marbled Cat inhabits
primary and tall secondary forest in lowland and lower montane areas, and
appears to have limited ability to adapt to degraded and fragmented forest. It is
now considered to be mainly terrestrial
and diurnal, perhaps resting overnight in the branches of trees.
This is an uncommon and relatively small cat, of similar size to the more common
Leopard Cat. Unlike the latter species,
however, the
Marbled Cat appears unable to survive in oil palm plantations.
Its diet comprises a variety of prey, particularly small mammals
such as squirrels, rats, and possibly treeshrews. It is known to feed on birds, and probably also feeds opportunistically on reptiles and
large insects, however the ecology of this species remains largely
unstudied.
The ground colour of its thick fur is a rich, yellowish-brown: this is patterned
with dark spots and wavy lines, with the markings on the flanks appearing similar
to the considerably larger Clouded Leopard. Its
tail is relatively long, and covered with thick fur and is spotted throughout.
In Southeast Asia the Marbled Cat occurs in Myanmar, Thailand, Indochina
(Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia), Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo. There
are no records from Singapore.
Outside the region its range extends into parts of northern India,
Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and southern China.
Fig 1 :
Trail camera image of a Marbled Cat taken
early afternoon in degraded, bamboo-dominated forest at
Virachey National Park, Cambodia.
Photo
thanks to Greg McCann.
References :
Francis, C.M. 2019. A Field Guide to the Mammals of South-east Asia. Second
Edition. New Holland. 416 pp.
Lekagul, B., McNeely, J., 1977. Mammals of Thailand. Association for the
Conservation of Wildlife, Thailand. 758 pp.
McCann, G. E. (2016). Marbled Cat Pardofelis marmorata at Virachey
National Park , Ratanakiri, Cambodia . Southeast Asia Vertebrate Records.
2016 : 72-74 [pdf] |