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A great read indeed :) thoroughly enjoyed it.
 
I'm not sure what the splits are; any info/any bets?
I'd like to think that Amur leopard cat would be one, and perhaps another leopard cat ssp. but nothing else comes to mind which is very distinct but hasn't been definitively tested already. I'm looking forward to finding out! :)
 
The thing that interests me is the statement that there will be 14 recognised genera; this may mean that the Profelis/Caracal and Catopuma/Pardofelis synonymizations have been reversed, that new genera have been split, or a combination of the above.

My guess for some of the potential areas for new species:

Colocolo/Pampas/Pantanal split
Tigrina/Oncilla split
Amur Cat/Leopard Cat
Mainland Tiger/Sumatran Tiger

Going on the most conservative 36-species count that adds 5.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
My guess for some of the potential areas for new species:

Colocolo/Pampas/Pantanal split
Tigrina/Oncilla split
Amur Cat/Leopard Cat
Mainland Tiger/Sumatran Tiger

Going on the most conservative 36-species count that adds 5.
Click to expand...

I thought Tigrina was already recognised?
He also mentioned the number of big cat species hasn't changed, so unless one's been lumped then it's unlikely tigers have been split.

A shame, because I really like your list. ;)
 
devilfish said:
I thought Tigrina was already recognised?
Click to expand...

It is an accepted taxon, but has not yet been acknowledged by the IUCN; as such this will be one of the new additions which some already acknowledge, given the fact that AD noted the current total varies depending on who you ask.
 
looking at the list of Felidae on the IUCN site, they currently have 37 species (including the Sunda Clouded Leopard). If the number of species is going up to 41 that only means four new ones. The article says they retain seven Big Cats with no change (presumably including Cheetah and Puma), four lynx and two clouded leopards. So that leaves 28 other Small Cats.

There's a good chance Chinese Mountain Cat may be subsumed, which would actually give five new species needed to make 41.

I think the really obvious choices would be Pampas Cat being split in three (so two new species) and Oncilla into two (giving the third new species).

Leopard Cat will probably be split in two (not necessarily Amur vs others) which would give the fourth new one.

Outside chance of Iriomote Cat being reinstated as a full species.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
The thing that interests me is the statement that there will be 14 recognised genera; this may mean that the Profelis/Caracal and Catopuma/Pardofelis synonymizations have been reversed, that new genera have been split, or a combination of the above.
Click to expand...
the IUCN already uses 14 genera:

Acinonyx
Caracal
Catopuma
Felis
Herpailurus
Leopardus
Leptailurus
Lynx
Neofelis
Otocolobus
Panthera
Pardofelis
Prionailurus
Puma
 
Chlidonias said:
the IUCN already uses 14 genera:

Acinonyx
Caracal
Catopuma
Felis
Herpailurus
Leopardus
Leptailurus
Lynx
Neofelis
Otocolobus
Panthera
Pardofelis
Prionailurus
Puma
Click to expand...

Precisely my point; over the last few years the list has dropped to twelve:

Acinonyx
Caracal (containing Profelis)
Felis
Leopardus
Leptailurus
Lynx
Neofelis
Otocolobus
Panthera
Pardofelis (containing Catopuma)
Prionailurus
Puma (containing Herpailurus)

Therefore, in order to go up again to 14 the Catopuma/Pardofelis and Herpailurus/Puma merges will have been reversed, assuming the current IUCN list is identical to the forthcoming one.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
Precisely my point; over the last few years the list has dropped to twelve:

....

Therefore, in order to go up again to 14 the Catopuma/Pardofelis and Herpailurus/Puma merges will have been reversed, assuming the current IUCN list is identical to the forthcoming one.
Click to expand...

But it hasn't dropped to 12 in the IUCN's official opinion, which is the matter at hand - so there's nothing to reverse in those two cases. ;)

Do remember that what is changing is an organisation's official opinion of which versions of the names most accurately represent our understanding of felid taxonomy - there're no absolutes.
 
Maguari said:
But it hasn't dropped to 12 in the IUCN's official opinion, which is the matter at hand - so there's nothing to reverse in those two cases. ;)

Do remember that what is changing is an organisation's official opinion of which versions of the names most accurately represent our understanding of felid taxonomy - there're no absolutes.
Click to expand...
I thought I'd already replied saying much that same thing, but it seems I had forgotten to so.

So, what Maguari said :D
 
With only hours left before the ten-day congress comes to an end, I've been trying to discover more about the announced splits but with no luck at all. There's a chance it'll be discussed at the very end of the congress or released a few days later, but has anyone heard anything?
 
the list on the IUCN website has gone up to 38 species (from 37) with the Oncilla having been split in two.

There are comments added on some of the species accounts (including L. colocolo and L. guttulus) about them being currently under review with possible further splits.
 
On the IUCN list (38 species), the jaguarundi is back in its own genus of Herpailurus. Also the Chinese mountain cat is a full species which I find odd - I thought it had been definitively placed as a subspecies of wildcat.
 
Arizona Docent said:
Also the Chinese mountain cat is a full species which I find odd - I thought it had been definitively placed as a subspecies of wildcat.
Click to expand...

It has been flip-flopped on a few times I believe :p the annoying thing is that this move means it is nigh-certain I will never get a full set of Felis, rather than only having Jungle Cat left to see!
 
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