Editing Ocelot (section)

== Characteristics ==
[[File:Ocelot.jpg|thumb|The ocelot is not significantly [[sexually dimorphic]], varying only slightly in mature maximum weight.]]
The ocelot's fur is extensively marked with solid black markings on a creamy, tawny, yellowish, reddish gray or gray background color. The spots on the head and limbs are small, but markings on the back, cheeks, and flanks are open or closed bands and stripes. A few dark stripes run straight from the back of the neck up to the tip of the tail. Its neck and undersides are white, and the insides of the legs are marked with a few horizontal streaks. Its round ears are marked with a bright white spot.<ref name = Sunquist /> Its fur is short, about {{cvt|0.8|cm}} long on the belly, but with about {{cvt|1|cm}} long guard hairs on the back.<ref name=mammal /> The body has a notably strong odor.<ref name=caldwell /> Each ocelot has a unique color pattern, which can be used to identify individuals.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Camarena-Ibarrola |first1=A. |last2=Figueroa |first2=K. |last3=Tejeda |first3=H. |last4=Valero |first4=L. |name-list-style=amp |title=Ocelot identification through spots |journal=Multimedia Tools and Applications |date=2019 |volume=78 |issue=18 |pages=26239–26262 |doi=10.1007/s11042-019-07837-1 |s2cid=174803096}}</ref> Its eyes are brown, but reflect in a golden hue when illuminated.<ref>{{cite book |author=Cisin, C. |year=1967 |title=Especially Ocelots |location=Amagansett, New York |publisher=Harry G. Cisin}}</ref> It has 28 to 30 teeth, with the [[dental formula]] {{DentalFormula|upper=3.1.2–3.1|lower=3.1.2.1}}.<ref name=mammal /> It has a [[bite force quotient]] at the [[Canine tooth|canine]] tip of 113.8.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Christiansen, P. |author2=Wroe, S. |name-list-style=amp |year=2007 |title=Bite forces and evolutionary adaptations to feeding ecology in carnivores |journal=Ecology |volume=88 |issue=2 |pages=347–358 |doi=10.1890/0012-9658(2007)88[347:bfaeat]2.0.co;2 |pmid=17479753}}</ref> Only one ocelot is known to possess [[albinism]], and the appearance of such a trait in ocelots is likely an indication of shrinking populations due to [[deforestation]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reynoso |first=Lucas |date=2022-12-27 |title=The world's first known albino ocelot worries scientists |url=https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2022-12-27/the-worlds-first-known-albino-ocelot-worries-scientists.html |access-date=2023-01-02 |website=EL PAÍS English Edition |language=en-us}}</ref>

With a head-and-body length ranging from {{cvt|55|to|100|cm}} and a {{cvt|30|to|45|cm}} long tail, the ocelot is the largest member of the genus ''Leopardus''.<ref name=Sunquist /> It typically reaches {{cvt|40–50|cm}} at the shoulder.<ref name=mammal /> The weight of females ranges between {{cvt|7|and|12|kg}} and of males between {{cvt|8|and|18|kg}}.<ref name=Sunquist /><ref name=Nowak>{{cite book |last1=Nowak |first1=R. M. |title=Walker's Mammals of the World |year=1999 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |location=Baltimore, US |isbn=978-0-8018-5789-8 |pages=816–817|edition=Sixth |chapter=''Felis pardalis'' (Ocelot) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T37sFCl43E8C&pg=PA816}}</ref> Its footprint measures nearly {{cvt|5|×|5|cm}}.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Murie |first1=O. J. |title=A Field Guide to Animal Tracks |date=1998 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Co. |location=New York |isbn=978-0-395-91094-8 |edition=Second |page=123 |chapter=Ocelot |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W0oXVdorWzkC&pg=PA123 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780395910948/page/123}}</ref>

The ocelot can be confused with the [[margay]] (''Leopardus wiedii'') and the [[oncilla]] (''L. tigrinus''), though the ocelot is noticeably larger and heavier with a shorter tail. Though all three have [[Rosette (zoology)|rosettes]] on their coats, the ocelot typically has a more blotched pattern; the oncilla has dark spots on its underbelly unlike the other two. Other differences lie in the facial markings, appearance of the tail and fur characteristics.<ref name = Sunquist /><ref name="Bowers">{{cite book |last1=Bowers |first1=N. |last2=Bowers |first2=R. |last3=Kaufman |first3=K. |name-list-style=amp |title=Kaufman Field Guide to Mammals of North America |year=2007 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Co. |location=New York |isbn=978-0-618-95188-8 |chapter=Ocelot ''Leopardus pardalis'' |page=140 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vfRgcZIOizEC&pg=PA140}}</ref> The ocelot is similar in size to a [[bobcat]] (''Lynx rufus''), though larger individuals have occasionally been recorded.<ref name=Moreno2006>{{cite journal  |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=87 |issue=4 |pages=808–816 |year=2006 |title=Competitive release in diets of ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') and puma (''Puma concolor'') after jaguar (''Panthera onca'') decline |last1=Moreno |first1=R. S. |doi=10.1644/05-MAMM-A-360R2.1 |last2=Kays |first2=R. W. |last3=Samudio |first3=R. |s2cid=37859321 |name-list-style=amp  |url=http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/staffpubs/docs/15933.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304074112/http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/staffpubs/docs/15933.pdf |archive-date=2011-03-04 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The jaguar is notably larger and heavier, and has rosettes instead of spots and stripes.<ref name="Burt">{{cite book|last1=Burt |first1=W.H. |title=A Field Guide to the Mammals: North America North of Mexico |year=1976 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Co.|location=Boston, US |isbn=978-0-395-91098-6 |edition=Third |pages=78–79 |chapter=Ocelot ''Felis pardalis'' |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O3l0WGH4CF4C&pg=PA78}}</ref>