Editing Rusty-spotted cat (section)

{{Short description|Small wild cat species}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Rusty-spotted cat
| image = Rusty spotted cat 1.jpg
| status = NT
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |title=''Prionailurus rubiginosus'' |name-list-style=amp |author=Mukherjee, S. |author2=Duckworth, J.W. |author3=Silva, A. |author4=Appel, A. |author5=Kittle, A. |date=2016 |page=e.T18149A50662471 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T18149A50662471.en |access-date=16 January 2022}}</ref>
 | status2 = CITES_A1 
 | status2_system = CITES 
 | status2_ref = <ref name=iucn/>
| genus = Prionailurus
| species = rubiginosus<ref name=msw3>{{MSW3 Wozencraft |pages=543–544 |id=14000195 |heading=Species ''Prionailurus rubiginosus''}}</ref>
| authority = ([[Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire|Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire]], 1834)
| range_map = Rusty-spottedCat distribution.jpg
| range_map_caption = {{leftlegend|#D27122|range of the rusty-spotted cat in 2016<ref name=iucn />}}
}}

The '''rusty-spotted cat''' ('''''Prionailurus rubiginosus''''') is one of the [[felidae|cat]] family's smallest members, of which historical records are known only from [[India]] and [[Sri Lanka]].<ref name="Pocock39">{{cite book |author=Pocock, R. I. |year=1939 |title=The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma |volume=Mammalia. – Volume 1 |location=London |publisher=Taylor and Francis Ltd. |chapter=''Prionailurus rubiginosus'' Geoffroy. The Rusty-spotted Cat |pages=276–280 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/PocockMammalia1/pocock1#page/n351/mode/2up}}</ref> In 2012, it was also recorded in the western [[Terai]] of [[Nepal]].<ref name="appel">{{Cite journal |last=Appel |first=A. |year=2016 |title=The first records of Rusty-spotted Cat in Nepal |url=https://www.dropbox.com/s/pdy1unqdzizsvcn/SWCCN2016_02.pdf?dl=1 |journal=Small Wild Cat Conservation News |issue=2 |pages=8–10 |access-date=2018-02-10 |archive-date=2023-08-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230812033020/https://uc83ef3e442a457f2754ff97932b.dl.dropboxusercontent.com/cd/0/get/CBpOEDx4-AvQCeNClp6BBKMH7wqJ_OieuuQkJHXsM7kJMh_kAbAE5jmW1USdflbEGJqNvU3df2uh0WI-2kNWbY7rVW-VlLBAMj74e3YFbIsEu4uvq3T8oU44oANoep5JQBE/file?dl=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> Since 2016, the global wild population is listed as [[Near Threatened]] on the [[IUCN Red List]] as it is fragmented and affected by loss and destruction of its prime habitat, [[deciduous forest]]s.<ref name=iucn />