The Species Most Closely Related To Cats

Hyenas, mongooses and palm civets are some of the closest relatives to wild cats. In addition to the 40 species of the Felidae family, there are roughly 90 additional species that make up the cat-like carnivorans of Feliformia. In this video, we'll take a look at the 6 families most closely related to wild cats, their most interesting species and where they're found.
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00:00 Intro
00:33 Malagasy Mongooses
02:36 Mongooses
05:20 Hyenas
08:16 Viverrids
10:31 African Palm Civet
10:54 Asiatic Linsangs
Creative Commons Attribution
Narrow-striped mongooses - Marie Hale / Flickr - CC BY 2.0
creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Maps - Maky, Chermundy & IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, species assessors and the authors of the spatial data
creativecommons.org/licenses/...
All maps are traced from those on Wikipedia and are distributed under the same CC BY-SA 3.0 licence on Wikimedia Commons:
tbtrvl.com/rangemaps
Media & Attribution
Unless stated above, all still images are used under license from Shutterstock.com. Thank you to everyone who makes their work available for use. Covering all of the wonderful species in these videos would not be possible without your incredible work.
Music
All of the music used in this video is available at Epidemic Sound. If you need music and would like to support the channel, please find a referral link below.
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Sources & Further Reading
Listed below are the sources used to create the video.
Animal Diversity
animaldiversity.org/
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feliformia
Encyclopaedia Britannica
www.britannica.com/
Fossa
animals.sandiegozoo.org/anima...
Red-Tailed Vontsira
www.nationalgeographic.org/me...
Hyena social behaviour
sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/20...
Hyena direct kills
www.awf.org/wildlife-conserva...
Striped hyena group behaviour
www.nationalgeographic.com/an...
Viverrids & the spotted linsang
www.britannica.com/animal/viv...
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#textbooktravel #animals #cats

[@cadenz7719]

So interesting that some Feliformia like hyenas evolved very similar to canines, with packs, and stamina based hunting tactics.

[@klaasdeboer8106]

Wonder what lions will be like in 3 million years from now, they hunt in packs, so maybe they will become more stamina hunters through time.

[@minephlip]

they even look kinda dog-like. I would have never thought they'd be more related to cats

[@DarkZodiacZZ]

I think it is called convergent evolution. Same thing as with penguins and the great auk.

[@cooliipie]

@@klaasdeboer8106 Dude lions will be extinct in 20 years 🤣

[@ia8018]

@@klaasdeboer8106 lions won't make it. They are on the road to their extinction, same for all big mammals on this planet.

[@adormec.1762]

Hyenas are more cat that dog. Fascinating.

[@TheSpeculativeDoodl]

You’d think at first glance that they are more like dogs, but it makes sense that they are more cat like.

[@theflyingdutchguy9870]

yeah they are closest related to mongoose

[@thecareneeded1873]

DQP YZNI KDQZYZ

[@indyreno2933]

Actually, both hyenas and mongooses are part of the infraorder Crocutopsia (meaning "hyena-shaped faced ones" in latin) but they are not that closely related, which is why the infraorder Crocutopsia is divided into two superfamilies, Hyaenoidea (includes Protelidae (Aardwolf) and Hyaenidae (Hyenas)) and Viverroidea (includes Nandiniidae (African Palm Civet), Prionodontidae (Linsangs), Poianidae (Oyans), Genettidae (Genets), Viverridae (Civets), Herpestidae (Mongooses), and Eupleridae (Malagasy Carnivorans)).

[@thecareneeded1873]

@@indyreno2933 correct we should be friends brub

[@wayner396]

LOL, that picture of the domesticated cat watching TV kills me 😆

[@Hippienolic2]

2:51 ikr 🤣

[@anthonycampbell2151]

😆 🤣 😂

[@samrizzardi2213]

Shame you left out the otter civet, the closest feliformia has ever got to developing a semi-aquatic form.

[@Solomon0424]

May I interest you into the Fishing Genet.

[@Textbooktravel]

Hi, Sam! I did see that one during the research (although I didn't know about the semi-aquatic form, interesting) but the only image I could legally use was an illustration, unfortunately! I did gloss over Viverrids and Mongooses intentially as I thought they would be interesting to do as separate videos

[@samrizzardi2213]

@@Textbooktravel That's a pity, but I understand completely

[@apan2480]

1:06 That is the cutest thing I have ever seen.

[@BullShitThat]

Interesting... I always thought Hyenas were more closely related to dogs/wolves than Felidae (cats). Learned something new!

[@wayner396]

Same, I never would have guessed

[@bluemanno7901]

Yeah it's really cool, hyenas and wild dogs although sperated by very old and different lineages of carnivora, evolved similar hunting styles and occupy similar predatory niches, so naturally their bodies wound up looking similar.

[@TheAccursedWanderer]

Hyenas are their own species

[@BullShitThat]

@@TheAccursedWanderer ?????

[@TheAccursedWanderer]

@@BullShitThat bruh

[@minephlip]

interesting how in most of these species their bodies can look very cat-like (like the hind legs and long tails) but their heads/faces are very different from cats. They all have very pointy heads for some reason (except the hyenas whose faces look more like dogs). I think this is what takes away most of their cat-like vibe in general. The ganets defintely take the cake in looking like cats though, their paws and ears and tails and legs all look exactly like those of cats

[@tjarkschweizer]

Technically, it's the other way around. Our house cat's don't look like normal cat's.

[@minephlip]

@@tjarkschweizer huh? Thats not even what my comment was about? And house cats do look like cats

[@judeperks6612]

@@tjarkschweizer The "truest" cats are the felinae and the pantherinae, which includes house cats. So yes, they do.

[@mjkhan9664]

I really like how the fossa are the most cat-like noncat feliform. Although Genets seem to have almost the exact look of small cats except for ther long snout

[@luckyotter623]

I think both the fossa and genet are equally cat-like. The fossa resembles a larger cat, like a panther, while the genet is like a smaller housecat. The fossa's face is actually more cat-like I think.

[@ZephyrinSkies]

In Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia civets can also be found in urban areas with lots of trees. They're called musang locally. Sightings are rare because of how shy and quiet they are and they only come out at night. You can go years without seeing one in an area until randomly catching a glimpse of one walking on telephone wires or running between trees if you're out late. There are people that keep them as pets and they can get really fat and lazy from overfeeding. They say not to feed them raw meat because it will make them aggressive, and they eat bugs and small critters, so I guess there's an inherent predator instinct in them besides eating fruit.

[@ekosubandie2094]

They might be crytpic but you could tell their presence around the area from their distinctive Pandan-like odor from their urine marking though

[@AckzaTV]

It's like your version of coyotes loo

[@prosimian]

They're also called musang here in the Philippines.

[@grandebadidea7689]

Civet in Indonesia is ''Luwak'' While ''Musang'' is weasel

[@ekosubandie2094]

@@grandebadidea7689 both names can be used interchangeably depending on who you ask, though luwak are often reserved to the Palm Civet nowadays while musang can be used to refer either other civet species (i.e: binturong) in general or weasel

[@wishingonthemoon1]

Four species of hyena? I thought there was just hyenas. Cool! Love these videos, mate. Edit: aha strandwolf, I’ve actually heard of that. Didn’t know it was a hyena

[@hyenaboy7504]

Spotted hyena, brown hyena, striped hyena, aardwolf

[@jarabuchholz1634]

I'm still on the fence as to whether its "mongooses" or a flock of "Mongeese"

[@billyr2904]

I thought so to 🤣

[@theflyingdutchguy9870]

😂😂

[@martijn9568]

Just hope that they aren't Canadian.

[@AwesomeYena]

Mongooses.

[@skaldlouiscyphre2453]

@@martijn9568 The Canada Mongoose, aka the Dragon Slayer.

[@DayDayind]

I adore your channel. It is very informative, well edited and we'll narrated. You got a sub for life out of me.

[@calebscrazyamazinglife1795]

Haha me too I subscribed for the same reason

[@Textbooktravel]

Thank you so much!

[@ohohlund]

if small domesticated cats were 80 cm in length, i would never leave my house.

[@zoology6572]

bad, idea the if the cat was that size it would probably attack u

[@ohohlund]

@@zoology6572 duh

[@theflyingdutchguy9870]

@@zoology6572 thats what he is saying😂

[@zoology6572]

@@theflyingdutchguy9870 ik i read it wrong

[@____________838]

Shouldn’t let them leave your house anyways.

[@markarnold6257]

The Fossa and the Jaguarundi look so much alike it's uncanny.

[@DeMooniC]

I guess that counts as an example of divergent evolution

[@Soulbotagem-BR]

@@DeMooniC In this case, convergent evolution...

[@DeMooniC]

@@Soulbotagem-BR Oh yeah meant that lol

[@cherenmertens]

Dude you are like a fast pace Nat Geo documentary. I love your vids so compact and informative. I love it.

[@BlackM0ngoose]

This is honestly really fascinating and informative!

[@_.skyyblue._]

I was about to ask if you could make a civet family video, but then I saw the Fossa on the thumbnail! Thanks for educating us all!

[@myuu22]

I'm disappointed that you did not mention the binturong. Also known as the bearcat, it's a viverid with the odd property of its urine smelling like buttered popcorn.

[@skaldlouiscyphre2453]

Doo-doo-doo, do the bearcat. Do the bearcat, that's the name of the song. Do the bearcat, it's piss smells like popcorn. Doo-doo-doo, do the bearcat.

[@whiteobama3032]

I didn't even know something like a bearcat exist, but I googled it and now its probably one of my favourite animal

[@taniawoodhouse6360]

​@@skaldlouiscyphre2453 I laughed so hard at your comment

[@skaldlouiscyphre2453]

@@taniawoodhouse6360 I hear bearcat, I hear Bearcat, it's just how things go. 😅

[@a_chaotic_child]

Looked them up, they look as if they are in a constant state of surprise

[@primesspct2]

Your channel is quite informative! I was just googling hyenas the other night and only 3 species showed up, with very little information available at a glance, you had the fourth as well! Very thorough ,and this was information I had not heard at age 59, well done! Don't you just want to cuddle one? I have the feeling they would take your nose off! lol

[@adrianrutterford762]

Wonderful videos, as ever. Thank you.

[@Textbooktravel]

Thanks, Adiran! Have a great week

[@fabianm.4217]

Could you do our closest living relatives?! It’s so cool seeing how all living organisms on this planet are related. 🥰

[@plopdoo339]

Chimps

[@carljhirst]

My sister lives closest to me, 2 streets away.

[@WeighedWilson]

Cockroaches

[@shame2189]

@@plopdoo339 Bonobo too

[@plopdoo339]

@@shame2189 well bonobo are a recent divergence from chimps😆

[@tigerlily2941]

A fox is just cat software running on dog hardware while the hyena is dog software running on cat hardware. True facts from my dad. Boy was I gullible when I was young.

[@elsomnoliento]

The Malagasy 'fossa' came from 'posa' which means "cat" in the Iban language of Borneo. On the outside the Fossa looks like a member of the cat family, so there is no surprise why the austonesian migrants who became the Malagasy people called it as such.

[@MJafro]

Invaders

[@Veggamattic]

This was SO good!

[@myragroenewegen5426]

I wish there was more commentary about where we see the link to cat family animals in these close animal families. I also feel like, given what these animals look like, it would be useful to know what their proximity is to weasels, foxes and ferrets.

[@tjarkschweizer]

Weasels, foxes and ferrets are caniforms (dog-like-carnivorans). Caniforma is the sister clade to feliforma (cat-like-carnivorans) This means they share a common ancestor with the animals in this video but are only distantly related.

[@AckzaTV]

Wow the various hyenna look like incredible art...they look pyschedelic like it's fur seems like fire and it has just stripped feet like someone painted this animal like a ww2 fighter airplane...its crazy how much these look like pokemon

[@veryunusual126]

I'm glad that you made this video Thank you 👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@jonreed9473]

Thanks for the info

[@harrywitz.mp4]

oh yeah, to me some of those viverrids definitely could be considered most cat like, esp with the spots. incredible video!

[@mrdino524]

Very nice video! I enjoy watching your vdos.

[@Textbooktravel]

Thank you!

[@BlackPhillip666]

Great editing.

[@TheSpeculativeDoodl]

Narrow snouted mongoose look like squirrels. Great job love the dedication to your work.

[@Textbooktravel]

Thanks, William!

[@indyreno2933]

You mean narrow-striped vontsira?

[@TheSpeculativeDoodl]

Probably

[@shawnohagan5503]

Great video

[@usforonce]

I love your work so much these videos are so well done. Been getting into crocodiles/alligators recently and if you ever do an episode on crocodilians would be so cool

[@nilanjanachatterjee9023]

Excellent video 😊

[@Dr.Ian-Plect]

Except for the major error in the first 6 seconds that undoes the very title. - lynxes, lions and cheetahs are not on the domestic cat ('cat' hereafter) lineage, that is to say, none are even ancestral, nevermind the direct ancestor of the cat! - further, those 3 are in different groups with 3 different split times, so they have 3 sets of distance from cats A terrible start. - the African wildcat, Felis lybica, is the direct ancestor of cats, and therefore most related

[@juliandeleon6107]

i like how caniforms you can easily tell they're closely related but with feliforms it's harder at least for me

[@jerrygaguru]

Great video would’ve been a little more interesting if you had of put in which Classifications could inter breed together and which could not.

[@LittleMissSyreid]

2:47 had me actually cackling, great content as usual. Keep it up!

[@thomascorbett2936]

Very interesting, thank you.

[@irondarknessdarkness8900]

actually the Skunk is the most closest relative to housecats. they also like snuggles and pets as well ,,and unlike most housecats they like a good bath about once a week,

[@judeperks6612]

Please tell me you meant all cat species and not just housecats. Because a skunk is not closer to a housecat than a cheetah is. Also, even that wouldn't be true, as feliforms diverged from the caniforms with the emergence of the first civet.

[@EresirThe1st]

You should do a video on seals that would be cool

[@hkschubert9938]

Very scientifically presented. Fascinating similarities. Nice geographic info.

[@stormevans6897]

These videos are the best.

[@mchevre]

I like how since they couldn't decide whether to use a picture of a lion or a domestic cat to represent the category of "cats" - instead they just used an image of a domestic cat wearing a lion mane accessory lmao

[@erwintupaz2162]

I remember Fosa from madagascar movie 😆😆

[@bluemanno7901]

Can you do a video next on the various kinds of Caniformia? There was a really good video that explained how cats evolved in the old world and dogs evolved in the new world but I can't find it 😞

[@chasechristophermurraydola9314]

I completely agree with you on seeing a video on the caniformia because I am interested in learning where the bears evolved and also where the seals and Walrus evolved and I am interested in where the bears evolved because I am interested in learning like if they originated in the old world and made their way to North America then how did they make their way to South America because like I know that the subfamily Tremarctinae aka short faced bears lived in North America but I am interested in learning how they got to South America and why the subfamily Tremarctinae can only be found in South America and for those of you who are wondering what a short faced bear is its very simple just look at the Spectacled bear as it is the only surviving short faced bear and the spectacled bear and it’s ancestors are called short faced bears because they have shorter snouts. And just saying but I am sorry for not putting in any punctuation because the only place I know to put periods is at the end.

[@isaacbruner65]

@@chasechristophermurraydola9314 bears made it to South America with the great American interchange around 2.5 mya

[@chasechristophermurraydola9314]

@@isaacbruner65 okay but what I don’t understand is why didn’t they stay in North America and also like where did the ancestors of the American black bear, Grizzly bear and Polar bear come from.

[@azizbekrustamov3351]

Nice video

[@commandZee]

Thanks! Great info and images, I just wish your tree graphic was more intuitive.

[@stukevideo]

Excellent!

[@Samsen_]

I find it fascinating the hyenas are feliforms when there is historical proof of striped hyenas being easily tamable from birth and can be trained like a dog. They are so dog-like it's crazy.

[@Dr.Ian-Plect]

Tameability isn't unique to dogs and shouldn't be interpreted as having any phylogenetic meaning.

[@ThePermaculturekid]

have you heard of binturongs? they are the coolest viverid in my opinion

[@taniawoodhouse6360]

they smell like pop corn

[@sopadepiedra7466]

This is my favorite channel

[@twomato8902]

0:17 bruh why is that photo so funny

[@BL3446]

Rather abrupt ending. Love this channel though.

[@Textbooktravel]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@erginguneysf]

Thank you for the great video. If I can be allowed to be pedantic for a moment, I'd like to make one quick correction. It's a small thing, but it's grating to the ear since it's repeated frequently. "They weigh between 40 to 80 kilograms" is incorrect wording. It's analogous to saying "my television is between my bookcase to my fireplace". The wording should be either "they weigh from 40 to 80 kilograms" or "they weigh between 40 and 80 kilograms".

[@0x_Proxxy]

ok is it just me or do brown hyenas look remarkably eerie, or creepy...?

[@indyreno2933]

Members of Eupleridae are actually called malagasy carnivorans not malagasy mongooses, the word "mongoose" refers exclusively to the family Herpestidae, there are two subfamilies of malagasy carnivorans, Euplerinae (Falanoucs, Fossa, and Fanaloka) and Galidiinae (Vontsiras).

[@michaelanderson7715]

WRONG, as usual.

[@indyreno2933]

"Malagasy carnivoran" is the correct term for the family Eupleridae.

[@michaelanderson7715]

@@indyreno2933 "Members of Eupleridae are actually called malagasy carnivorans not malagasy mongooses" - THAT is what I replied to as WRONG. They ARE commonly called malagasy mongooses. - your 2nd comment states a different point and is irrelevant --------------------- I have corrected your bs (particularly bear taxonomy) a lot. You are a wanton ignoramus.

[@indyreno2933]

The word "mongoose" only refers to the family Herpestidae, which is native only to both Asia and mainland Africa, members of the family Eupleridae are more correctly referred to as malagasy carnivorans because not all members resemble mongooses, only the vontsiras (subfamily Galidiinae) do, the members of the Euplerinae subfamily don't resemble mongooses.

[@michaelanderson7715]

@@indyreno2933 You're doing your usual bs; ignoring the details and stubbornly spewing your crap.

[@cathyburrows8162]

Never seen an animal with bright red coat as ring tail mongoose, such a beauty.

[@yournostroleeoleeolees.]

Gracious...Muchas Gracious More Videos ....So Interesting.... N so .... Educational...gracias

[@theflyingdutchguy9870]

here we call civets civet cats. wich confuses a lot of people into thinking they are true cats

[@indyreno2933]

There is no such thing as a civet cat, civets (family Viverridae) are actually closer to hyenas than to cats, in fact most of the extant families of feliform carnivorans are part of the infraorder Crocutopsia (meaning "hyena-shaped faced ones" in latin) members of this infraorder look more like caniforms than cats, it includes all extant families of feliform carnivorans with the exception of Felidae, Crocutopsia is also split into two superfamilies, Hyaenoidea (contains 2 families: Protelidae and Hyaenidae)) and Viverroidea (includes 7 families: Nandiniidae, Prionodontidae, Poianidae, Genettidae, Viverridae, Herpestidae, and Eupleridae)).

[@theflyingdutchguy9870]

@@indyreno2933 you read my comment wrong. im not calling them cats. im saying they are called civet cats here even tho they are not

[@zebedeemadness2672]

In common name just Civet is enough, but Civet-Cat is used by a fair amount of people, although if both names are being used IMO the other way round of Cat-Civet would be better as in resembles Cat but is Civet, as ending in Cat typically implies Cat for those not familiar.

[@theflyingdutchguy9870]

@@zebedeemadness2672 thats a good one. i never heard someone in english saying civet-cat. but thats the common name in dutch. i think they gave it that name before it was known to not be a feline. and it just stuck

[@indyreno2933]

Basically, civets don't look very much like cats, they look more like a mix between a marten and a raccoon, hence members of the infraorder Crocutopsia (meaning "hyena-shaped faced ones" in latin) of the suborder Feliformia contains all extant families of feliform carnivorans except for Felidae, the families Protelidae (Aardwolf and Fossil Relatives), Hyaenidae (Hyenas), Nandiniidae (African Palm Civet and Fossil Relatives), Prionodontidae (Linsangs), Poianidae (Oyans), Genettidae (Genets), Viverridae (Civets), Herpestidae (Mongooses), and Eupleridae (Malagasy Carnivorans) are all fairly similar with their superficially caniform-like characteristics and most species being obligate omnivores, Crocutopsia is divided into two superfamilies, Hyaenoidea (includes Protelidae and Hyaenidae) and Viverroidea (includes Nandiniidae, Prionodontidae, Poianidae, Genettidae, Viverridae, Herpestidae, and Eupleridae).

[@Dr.Ian-Plect]

1. 6 seconds in and there's a major error that undoes the entire topic; - lynxes, lions and cheetahs are not on the domestic cat ('cat' hereafter) lineage, that is to say, none are even ancestral, nevermind the direct ancestor of the cat! - further, those 3 are in different groups with 3 different split times, so they have 3 sets of distance from cats A terrible start. - the African wildcat, Felis lybica, is the direct ancestor of cats, and therefore most related

[@kiayaoi]

new textbook travel vid lets GOOOOOO

[@Bob_Adkins]

I always thought a couple of primitive-looking cats, 1 of which is the jaguarundi, is a link between the mongooses/civets/gennets and true cats.

[@judeperks6612]

oh wow, he does look like that!! Never heard of those guys. However, according to the ever-knowing wikipedia, the first common ancestor of all cats emerged about 10-12 million years ago, while the Jaguarundi evolved about 6.7 million years ago.

[@jeffreyvenier3245]

How did I forget that civet coffee story was why civets sound familiar?

[@SalvoDan]

With the popularity of Kopi Luwak, there is a real problem with Asian Palm Civets being battery farmed in cages and being force-fed low-grade coffee berries for the mass-manufacture of the expensive coffee. If you do purchase this variety of coffee, make sure you get wild kopi luwak coffee.

[@eddiesantiago7971]

You didn’t mention the binturong!!! How could you forget the popcorn smelling friend

[@admiralcat3809]

It's amazing how hyenas are basically the evolution's attempt to making dogs using the cat's family and it became successful.

[@crashnreset6987]

I once told a hyena that he was really a cat,, he couldn't stop laughing ;p

[@tigerlily2941]

Nooooo stop it. Bad dad joke bad.

[@MountainRaven1960]

8:35 ‘Tell us about it Ganet!’

[@OhMaccc]

Its weird when you first see animals that you never knew even existed

[@chrisbuckley1785]

Hmmm, I always thought hyenas where more closely related to jellyfish then cats.

[@spatrk6634]

people usually confuse hyenas being more closely related to dogs

[@indyreno2933]

Jellyfish are not mammals.

[@FazeTsu]

9:09 fire ferret lol

[@1567stardust]

All close relatives of cats from this list are cute 🥰

[@dixgun]

Beautiful

[@austincrawford8717]

Great video, I’d love to see one for turtles and tortoises

[@thomascorbett2936]

Some house cat often stand upright like Mercats .

[@coralblake9868]

How different are quolls from civics, and foosa?

[@diegoquezada3193]

Well first off quolls are marsupials which diverged from placental mammals around 160 million years ago, so that is pretty enormous difference.

[@wdobni]

this is a good proper documentary.....brisk and entirely to the point with zero appeals to sentimentality and no long pauses as an airplane flies iover the landscape taking the long view down on local creation.........it also has the very high virtue that we are never once forced to look at the face and form of the narrator.....most youtube documentaries are hymns to the narrator who appears in nearly every scene

[@L_mattox]

I want to pet all of these things.

[@sleekweasel]

I love your videos - the presentation, information, and script are great, but you get some pronunciations wrong - fossa is pronounced 'foo-sah', and in the mustelids video, steppe is 'step'. Genet is 'jenet'.

[@indyreno2933]

Feliformia is actually divided into two infraorders Aeluropsia (meaning "cat-shaped faced ones" in latin) and Crocutopsia (meaning "hyena-shaped faced ones" in latin), Crocutopsia includes all extant families within Feliformia except Felidae, Crocutopsia is split into two superfamilies, Hyaenoidea (Hyenas and Aardwolf (contains 2 families: Protelidae and Hyaenidae)) and Viverroidea (Civets, Mongooses, and Relatives (contains 7 families: Nandiniidae, Prionodontidae, Poianidae, Genettidae, Viverridae, Herpestidae, and Eupleridae)), with 88 extant species and seven families, Viverroidea is by far the largest and most diverse superfamily of extant carnivorans, the infraorder Crocutopsia is also defined by the fact that the superfamilies Hyaenoidea (includes Protelidae and Hyaenidae) and Viverroidea (includes Nandiniidae, Prionodontidae, Poianidae, Genettidae, Viverridae, Herpestidae, and Eupleridae) possess many caniform-like characteristics and most members being obligate omnivores, Felidae (Cats) are the only extant family within both the superfamily Feloidea and the infraorder Aeluropsia, making Felidae the most different and most distantly related from all the other groups, there are only three subfamilies of cats, the extinct Proailurinae and Machairodontinae and the extant Felinae, Felinae contains all 42 extant cat species within 20 genera, Felinae is also divided into two tribes, the big cats (tribe Pantherini (includes 7 genera: Acinonyx, Puma, Herpailurus, Panthera, Uncia, Jaguarius, and Neofelis)) and the small cats (tribe Felini (includes 13 genera: Otocolobus, Lynx, Pardofelis, Badiofelis, Catopuma, Leptailurus, Caracal, Profelis, Felis, Prionailurus, Leopardus, Oncifelis, and Oreailurus)), Pantherini is also split into two subtribes Acinonychina (Lesser Big Cats (contains 3 genera: Acinonyx, Puma, and Herpailurus)) and Pantherina (Greater Big Cats (contains 4 genera: Panthera, Uncia, Jaguarius, and Neofelis)) Felini also contains two subtribes being Lyncina (Lynx-Like Small Cats (contains 8 genera: Otocolobus, Lynx, Pardofelis, Badiofelis, Catopuma, Leptailurus, Caracal, and Profelis)) and Felina (Wildcat-Like Small Cats (includes 5 genera: Felis, Prionailurus, Leopardus, Oncifelis, and Oreailurus)).

[@Textbooktravel]

Very interesting, thank you for taking the time to leave this comment

[@zebedeemadness2672]

Crocutopsia doesn't even exist as a file in Google, so no. And Aeluroidea is an unranked Clade. It's suborder Feliformia that holds the African palm civet (Nandinia binotata), then superfamily Feloidea that holds the the Cats family (Felidae) and linsang family (Prionodontidae), then the Infraorder Viverroidea that holds the Civets and Genets family (Viverridae), as well as the superfamily Herpistoidea that holds the Malagasy carnivorans family (Euplerinae), the Mongoose family (Herpestidae), the Hyena family (Hyenaidea).

[@indyreno2933]

Viverroidea is not an infraorder, it is actually a superfamily that includes all seven of the small-sized feliform carnivorans, Viverroidea contains seven families, Nandiniidae (African Palm Civet), Prionodontidae (Linsangs), Poianidae (Oyans), Genettidae (Genets), Viverridae (Civets), Herpestidae (Mongooses), and Eupleridae (Malagasy Carnivorans), with 88 extant species and seven extant families, Viverroidea is the largest and most diverse superfamily of extant carnivorans, Viverroidea is also the sister group to Hyaenoidea, which includes the extant Protelidae (Aardwolf) and Hyaenidae (Hyenas) and the extinct Lophocyonidae and Percrocutidae, Felidae (Cats) is the only extant family of both the superfamily Feloidea and the infraorder Aeluropsia, making Felidae the most distantly related from all the other groups.

[@zebedeemadness2672]

@@indyreno2933 Viverroidea is an Infraorder, in the Superfamily Feloidea. Aeluropsia is an (unranked) clade. And why no mention of "Crocutopsia", Google it🤔 Nothing there🤔, your info is old, out daded, toilet paper, the fact you're using a word a world wide search engine has never hear of, proves it. You have nothing to say that intrsts me, no need to reply.

[@Minish4rk360]

@@Textbooktravel the facts that this person is saying aren't correct and they haven't provided any sources for their claims. just wanted you to know that.

[@judeperks6612]

About the first ten seconds; Domestic cats, lynxes, and cheetahs belong to the felinae subfamily, so he was correct in saying that they are very closely related. However, Lions belong to the pantherinae. This means that lions aren't as closely related to house cats as much as, say, a caracel or an ocelot, which I think would have been a better basis for comparison. The CLOSEST relative to the domestic cat is the African wildcat, which is essentially the exact same species, minus the "domestication."

[@judeperks6612]

He's also incorrect at 7:12 when he says that the striped hyena is the smallest of the Hyaenidae.... the aardwolf is actually the smallest, being only about 40-50 cm tall at most, with the striped hyena reaching from 60-80 cm. He says that the aardwolf is smaller at 7:45 though, so idk why he contradicts his earlier statement there.

[@Dr.Ian-Plect]

jude Yes, I just wrote out and posted the following, then read your take; 6 seconds in and there's a major error that undoes the entire topic; - lynxes, lions and cheetahs are not on the domestic cat ('cat' hereafter) lineage, that is to say, none are even ancestral, nevermind the direct ancestor of the cat! - further, those 3 are in different groups with 3 different split times, so they have 3 sets of distance from cats A terrible start. - the African wildcat, Felis lybica, is the direct ancestor of cats, and therefore most related ----------- Minor point, jude, the domestic cat and the African wildcat are distinct species.

[@judeperks6612]

@@Dr.Ian-Plect Thanks for your reply! I was hoping someone would notice that too. I was a bit hyperfixated on taxonomy at the time of writing this, so I'm not as well versed anymore, but that's interesting about the african wildcat! Taxonomy is so confusing and hard to wrap my head around. What defines a separate species, even? I've had that question about domestic dogs. All the different breeds are still the same species, and the explanation I was given is that since they still have the same number of chromosomes and can interbreed, that proves they are the same species. However, since a dog can also breed with a wolf, why are domestic dogs considered a separate species from wolves? And why, if a domestic cat and an African wildcat can breed, are they also considered different species? Just because we said so? I'd love to go to collage for this just so I can answer all these questions.

[@Dr.Ian-Plect]

@@judeperks6612 You're welcome - there is no single definition of a species. The biggest criterion not agreed upon is ability to interbreed with distinct taxa (or not). Some definitions, including the mainstream BSC (biological species concept), do not allow for interspecific compatibility (interspecific - between species) and reproduction, others do. - in general though, a species is 1 or more separate populations of organisms that if brought together could freely interbreed. It follows from that that such populations will be of distinct morphologies and other traits from other, noncompatible groups, i.e. another species. - domesticated species (note that domestication specifically means genetically modified by humans, not merely tame or captive) by taxonomic convention are split into breeds. In zoology, only domesticated species have breeds, it doesn't apply in the wild (botany is different). It's not really decided by chromosome number or breeding compatibility (great dane x chihuahua?!), recall the point above wherein breeding compatibility is accepted by some species definitions. This results in what we see today; highly distinct variants that if were wild, would be split into subspecies or species, assuming natural populations existed. You shouldn't puzzle over the extreme variability of, say dog breeds compared to how similar distinct wild species can be, it's just how taxonomists decided to categorise by lumping all domestic variants as 'breeds'! - dogs are distinct species from wolves (you know by now about the interbreeding aspect) because they are morphologically distinct, have discrete populations and do not meet for reproductive interactions (for the main!). - same for the cat and African wildcat , chickens and junglefowl, polar and brown bears...

[@judeperks6612]

@@Dr.Ian-Plect That's really interesting, I'd never thought before about the fact that "breeds" don't really occur in the wild! I was confused for a long time about what would happen if all the dog breeds were just left to their own devices were humans to suddenly go extinct. I heard that all over the world, whenever dogs went wild and were allowed to interbreed for many generations, they would look/act similar to Carolina dogs or dingoes (medium-sized, yellow-coated). The point about the chihuahua and great dane is a great one! Just because they're the same species, doesn't mean they should (or could?) reproduce. Taxonomy is so messy and subjective, I always have so many questions that will just never have a definite answer. But that's why it's so interesting to me, lol. Thanks again for your answer!

[@zekec6088]

Woah, that's one muscular little dude, the fossa

[@Daniel661lol]

I thot hyenas were a type of wild dog, boy was I wrong lol

[@CheshireGhost]

Why did you leave out binturongs? 😟

[@DieFlabbergast]

At first, I thought this was being narrated by Eric Idle, one of the Monty Python team! The resemblance is uncanny.

[@austinhouse5990]

Great channel. Would you do rodents soon

[@sathanyam2193]

Closest relative to canines dig like carnivore and you deserve At least 3 million subs and 6 billion views or more

[@nonnodacciaio704]

Well that fossa in the beginning was ripped

[@ask-mw5hk]

Can you do a video like this but for chickens??

[@Mark-xv5lb]

domesticated cat shown slouching with remote is classic

[@deaftodd]

My cat is now front of me and blocking my view. She can fetch like a dog. She's arguing, "I'm more closer to cats than dogs.".

[@davidva8694]

Those logs of coffee beans don’t look very pleasant to pass but somebody had to be super hungry to try washing them for food & even more thirsty to try drinking the wash water.

[@chrishoo2]

I’m not absolutely sure but I’ve always pronounces Gennet with the soft “g”, Jennet.

[@idelsagil9129]

Mongooses/Meerkats 0:33 & 2:36 Viverrids 8:16 African Palm Civet 10:31

[@georgerubypoppy1063]

Love your vids, but I think you will find genet is pronounced jenet.

[@jerryhinkle9509]

And wolfs are pretty cute

[@robertrobert7924]

I love this video about so many mammals I never knew existed and others that I did not know were related. I find hyenas to be the most ugly and disgusting of all. The rest are either beautiful or really cute. I love mercats.

[@Nate_Luke]

I saw one genet in my backyard. If it weren't for my trees, my dogs would've gotten to it. Lucky fella

[@____________838]

Oh wow. Where do you live?

[@Nate_Luke]

@@____________838 That's the weird part, in Dar Es Salaam City which is in Tanzania and where I live there are no forests, woodlands or scrubland, the nearest one are maybe 7 or 8 kms away. I was very surprised, I realised they can be very adaptable

[@____________838]

@@Nate_Luke I suppose they’re like raccoons in America.

[@Nate_Luke]

@@____________838 they are more elusive and less troublesome, unless you keep poultry, then they become annoying. Imagine I have seen one from a far and at night a couple of times and at first people in my neighbourhood were afraid, they didn't know what to make of it including me and then one early morning after a jog I was sitting cooling down with my dogs then all of a sudden it jumped from the roof of one building to the ground and my dogs bolted towards it immediately, it had a fraction of a second to reach the tree next to the other building and luckily it managed to escape unharmed and ran off to it daytime shelter. Never saw it again, maybe because it marked my house as a place to avoid because of the dogs or maybe because it's just elusive and I was lucky to see it and it still passes my house through the top of the fences.

[@____________838]

@@Nate_Luke they’re fairly intelligent, Apparently they can also be semi-domesticated.

[@BubblewrapHighway]

10:20 did you say cat poop coffee?

[@Red_Genie]

"The Fosa, The Fosa are attacking"