Turkestan lynx

Turkestan lynx
A captive Turkestan lynx at Tierpark Berlin, Germany.
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Feliformia
Family:	Felidae
Subfamily:	Felinae
Genus:	Lynx
Species:	L. lynx
Subspecies:	L. l. isabellinus
Trinomial name
Lynx lynx isabellinus (Blyth, 1847)
Synonyms
Lynx lynx kamensis (Satunin, 1904) Lynx lynx tibetanus (Gray, 1863)

The Turkestan lynx (Lynx lynx isabellinus) is a subspecies of Eurasian lynx native to Central Asia. It is also known as Central Asian lynx, Tibetan lynx or Himalayan lynx. It is widespread from west in Central Asia, from South Asia to China and Mongolia. There are 27,000 mature individuals in China as of 2013. It is proposed for the Turkestan lynx to be listed as Vulnerable in Uzbekistan.

Taxonomy and evolution

The Altai lynx (lynx lynx wardi), another Eurasian lynx subspecies, had been proposed. However, most authors considered it as synonymous to lynx lynx isabelinus. Further investigations are in need in order to declare it whether as a separate subspecies or not. As of today, wardi is sometimes regarded as a synonym to isabellinus.

Distribution and habitat

The Turkestan lynx is one of the most widespread subspecies of Eurasian lynx. In Central Asia, the Turkestan lynx live mostly in open woodlands and steppe, and are also found throughout the rocky hills and mountains of the Central Asian desert regions. In southern Asia, it occurs throughout the northern slopes of the Himalayas, and has been reported both from thick scrub woodland and barren, rocky areas above the tree line. The Turkestan lynx live in the Ladakh area of Kashmir, the Himachal Pradesh and other Indian states of the Himalayas region. In southern China, it occurs sporadically throughout the Tibetan plateau.