Neofelis
Clouded Leopard ( Neofelis nebulosa )
Neofelis is a genus of cats ( Felidae) that the clouded leopard ( Neofelis nebulosa ) and the Sunda clouded leopard ( Neofelis diardi ) includes two types. Both species live in Southeast Asia, the clouded leopard is found on the mainland of Nepal, northern India and China to the Malay Peninsula and the Sunda clouded leopard into two subspecies on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo.
Features
The two species of the genus Neofelis among the smaller species of big cats. The Jaguars reached a head -body length between 75 and 105 cm with a tail of 79-90 cm, the weight is on average 18 to 22 kilograms. The size of the Sunda clouded leopard, lies in a similar range. Both species have a yellow-brown to dark gray color, on which there is a noticeable markings from large darker and partially surrounded by black spots.
The Sunda clouded leopard has longer canines and thicker fangs in the upper jaw than the clouded leopard. The clouds drawings of the coat are smaller and darker and there are many eye-catching spots within the clouds spots. The coat is gray, generally darker and it has a dark, continuous, double dorsal stripe on.
Dissemination
The distribution of the two species of the genus Neofelis is located in Southeast Asia. Here, the clouded leopard is common on mainland Southeast Asia in parts of the People's Republic of China, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the mainland territory of Malaysia. In contrast, the Sunda clouded leopard - lives on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo and possibly on some of the smaller islands of the Malay Archipelago.
System
By 2006, the clouded leopard ( Neofelis nebulosa ) was the only species of the genus Neofelis, which is counted among the big cats. On the basis of molecular genetic and morphometric studies of the Sunda clouded leopard - ( Neofelis diardi ) was classified by the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Borneo as a separate species. At the genetic level, the two forms are as different as the species of the genus Panthera with each other, therefore, two types can be distinguished
Occasionally Neofelis is considered subgenus Panthera. Through their ossified hyoid bone, the genus Neofelis but differs from the other big cats.