Formosan clouded leopard
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| Formosan Clouded Leopard | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Genus: | Neofelis |
| Species: | N. nebulosa |
| Subspecies: | N. n. brachyura |
| Trinomial name | |
| Neofelis nebulosa brachyura (Swinhoe, 1862) |
|
The Formosan Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa brachyura) is a subspecies of Clouded Leopard that was endemic to the island of Taiwan and is now believed to be extinct. Its tail is slightly shorter than that of other subspecies of Clouded Leopard.
The Formosan Clouded Leopard was the second-largest carnivore on Taiwan, after the Formosan Black Bear. After extensive logging of its natural habitat, the leopards were forced to retreat into the Jade Mountain and Dawu Mountain. There have been no sightings of this animal since the 1980s.
The Rukai Taiwanese aborigines believed that their ancestors transformed from these leopards.
[edit] References
- Po-Jen Chiang: Ecology and Conservation of the Formosan Clouded Leopard - PhD thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg 2007
- ^ Sanderson, J., Khan, J.A., Grassman, L. & Mallon, D.P. (2008). Neofelis nebulosa. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 10 December 2010.
