Editing Leopard cat (section)

=== Phylogeny ===
[[Phylogenetic]] analysis of the [[nuclear DNA]] in tissue samples from all Felidae species revealed that the [[evolutionary radiation]] of the Felidae began in Asia in the [[Miocene]] around {{mya|14.45|8.38}}.<ref name=Johnson2006>{{cite journal |last1=Johnson |first1=W. E. |last2=Eizirik |first2=E. |last3=Pecon-Slattery |first3=J. |last4=Murphy |first4=W. J. |author5=Antunes, A. |author6=Teeling, E. |author7=O'Brien, S. J. |name-list-style=amp |year=2006 |doi=10.1126/science.1122277 |title=The Late Miocene radiation of modern Felidae: A genetic assessment |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=311 |pages=73–77 |pmid=16400146 |issue=5757 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1230866 |bibcode=2006Sci...311...73J |s2cid=41672825 |access-date=2020-04-30 |archive-date=2020-10-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201004075725/https://zenodo.org/record/1230866 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Werdelin2010>{{cite book |last1=Werdelin |first1=L. |last2=Yamaguchi |first2=N. |last3=Johnson |first3=W. E. |last4=O'Brien |first4=S. J. |name-list-style=amp |chapter=Phylogeny and evolution of cats (Felidae) |year=2010 |pages=59–82 |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266755142 |editor1-last=Macdonald |editor1-first=D. W. |editor2-last=Loveridge |editor2-first=A. J. |title=Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford, UK |isbn=978-0-19-923445-5 |access-date=2020-04-30 |archive-date=2018-09-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180925141956/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266755142 |url-status=live }}</ref> Analysis of [[mitochondrial DNA]] of all Felidae species indicates a radiation at around {{mya|16.76|6.46}}.<ref name=Li_al2016>{{cite journal |author=Li, G. |author2=Davis, B. W. |author3=Eizirik, E. |name-list-style=amp |author4=Murphy, W. J. |year=2016 |title=Phylogenomic evidence for ancient hybridization in the genomes of living cats (Felidae) |journal=Genome Research |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=1–11 |doi=10.1101/gr.186668.114 |pmid=26518481 |pmc=4691742}}</ref>

The ''Prionailurus'' species are estimated to have had a [[common ancestor]] between {{mya|8.16|4.53}},<ref name=Johnson2006/> and {{mya|8.76|0.73}}.<ref name=Li_al2016/>
Both models agree in the [[rusty-spotted cat]] (''P. rubiginosus'') having been the first cat of this [[evolution]]ary [[Lineage (genetic)|lineage]] that [[Genetic divergence|genetically diverged]], followed by the [[flat-headed cat]] (''P. planiceps'') and then the [[fishing cat]] (''P. viverrinus'').<ref name=Johnson2006/><ref name=Li_al2016/> It is estimated to have diverged together with the leopard cat between {{mya|4.31|1.74}}<ref name=Johnson2006/> and {{mya|4.25|0.02}}.<ref name=Li_al2016/>

The following [[cladogram]] shows the phylogenetic relationships of the leopard cat as derived through analysis of nuclear DNA:<ref name=Johnson2006/><ref name=Werdelin2010/>
{{cladogram |align=left |style=font-size:90%;line-height:100%;width:500px;
 |cladogram={{clade |label1=[[Felidae]]
 |1={{clade |label1=[[Felinae]]
   |1={{clade
    |1={{clade
       |1={{clade |label1=''Prionailurus''
         |1={{clade
           |1={{clade
            |1={{clade
             |1={{clade
               |1='''Leopard cat'''
               |2=Fishing cat }}
             |2=Flat-headed cat }}
           |2=Rusty-spotted cat }} }}
       |2=[[Pallas's cat]] (''O. manul'') |label2=''Otocolobus''}} }}
    |2=other Felinae lineages }}
   |2=[[Pantherinae]] }} }} }}
{{clear}}