Kingdom Animalia Order Carnivora Genus Felis Higher classification Jungle cat | Phylum Chordata Family Felidae Scientific name Felis chaus maimanah Rank Subspecies | |
Similar Felis chaus kutas, Jungle cat, Felis, Felidae, Mammal | ||
Felis chaus maimanah is considered a subspecies of the jungle cat.
During an expedition to Afghanistan in the 1880s, mammal skins were collected and later presented to the Indian Museum. One cat skin without skull from the area of Maimanah in the country's north was initially identified as of Felis caudata, but in the absence of skins for comparison the author was not sure whether his identification was correct. In his revision of Asian wildcat skins collected in the Zoological Museum of Berlin, the German zoologist Zukowsky reassessed the Maimanah cat skin, and because of its larger size and shorter tail than caudata skins proposed a new species with the scientific name Felis (Felis) maimanah. Zukowsky assumed that the felid inhabits the region south of the Amu Darya River.
The Russian zoologist Ognev acknowledged Zukowsky’s assessment but also suggested that more material is needed for a definite taxonomic classification of this cat. In his posthumously published monograph about skins and skulls of the genus Felis in the collection of the Natural History Museum, the British taxonomist Pocock referred neither to Zukowsky’s appraisal nor to jungle cat skins from Afghanistan. The British natural historian Ellerman and zoologist Morrison-Scott tentatively subordinated the Maimanah cat skin as a subspecies of Felis chaus.