GC: n
S: SDir – https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/felid (last access: 11 September 2024); NCBI – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7152389/ (last access: 11 September 2024).
N: 1. New Latin Felidae, family name, from Felis, genus of cats, from Latin, cat. First Known Use: circa 1889.
2. felid (noun): cat (sense 1b); felid (adjective).
- any of a family (Felidae) of carnivorous usually solitary and nocturnal mammals (such as the domestic cat, lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar, cougar, wildcat, lynx, and cheetah).
3. feline. Also known as: Felidae, cat.
- feline, (family Felidae), any of 37 cat species that among others include the cheetah, puma, jaguar, leopard, lion, lynx, tiger, and domestic cat. Cats are native to almost every region on Earth, with the exception of Australia and Antarctica. They are carnivorous mammals that live in a wide variety of habitats, but they are typically woodland animals.
- Most cats are patterned with spots, stripes, or rosettes, but some, such as the puma (Puma concolor), jaguarundi (Herpailurus yaguarondi), and lion (Panthera leo), are uniform in colour. Black or nearly black coats occur in individuals of several species. Although lynx (genus Lynx) have a stubby tail, most cats have a long tail that makes up about a third of the animal’s total length. The head is characterized by a short nose and round face, usually with short ears. The only cat with a well-developed mane is the male African lion. Cat feet have sharp claws that are retractile except in the cheetah. In most felids the male is larger than the female.
- Cats are noted for purring when content and for snarling, howling, or spitting when in conflict with another of their kind. The so-called “big cats” (genus Panthera), especially the lion, often roar, growl, or shriek. Usually, however, cats are silent. Many cats use “clawing trees,” upon which they leave the marks of their claws as they stand and drag their front feet downward with the claws extended. Whether such behaviour is for the purpose of cleaning or sharpening the claws or simply to stretch is debatable, but the behaviour is innate; kittens raised in isolation soon begin to claw objects.
4. Mammals: felids.
- Latin: Felidae.
- The cat-family
S: 1 & 2. MW – https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/felid, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cat (last access: 11 September 2024). 3. EncBrit – https://www.britannica.com/animal/feline (last access: 11 September 2024). 4. TERMIUM PLUS – https://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2alpha/alpha-eng.html?lang=eng&i=1&srchtxt=FELIDES&index=alt&codom2nd_wet=1#resultrecs (last access: 11 September 2024).
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