Puma

Puma Puma concolor, photographed by William Quatman.

Belongs within: Felidae.

As recognised by Johnson et al. (2006) on the basis of molecular analysis, the genus Puma includes two modern cat species, the puma Puma concolor and the jaguarundi Puma yagouaroundi, found in North and South America. Both species are darkly spotted when cubs, but become uniformly coloured as they mature. Puma concolor is the second-largest living cat species in the New World after the jaguar Panthera onca, and perhaps the most varied in the range of habitats it can be found in. Puma yagouaroundi is a smaller species, slightly larger than a domestic cat, that is often associated with damp habitats. The genus Puma is also known from the Pliocene and Pleistocene of Eurasia, where it is represented by the puma-like species P. pardoides.

<==Puma Jardine 1834 C57
    |  i. s.: P. pardoides Owen 1846 ME05
    |--P. (Puma) [incl. Pristinofelis Spillman 1931] C57
    |    `--*P. (P.) concolor (Linné 1771) C57, JE06, C57 (see below for synonymy)
    |         |--P. c. concolor (see below for synonymy) C57
    |         |--P. c. anthonyi (Nelson & Goldman 1931) [=Felis concolor anthonyi] C57
    |         |--P. c. araucana (Osgood 1943) [=Felis concolor araucanus] C57
    |         |--‘Felis’ c. azteca Merriam 1901 MB86
    |         |--P. c. bangsi (Merriam 1901) [=Felis concolor bangsi; incl. F. c. soederstroemii Lönnberg 1913] C57
    |         |--P. c. borbensis (Nelson & Goldman 1933) [=Felis concolor borbensis] C57
    |         |--P. c. cabrerae Pocock 1940 [=Felis concolor cabrerae] C57
    |         |--P. c. capricornensis (Goldman in Young & Goldman 1946) [=Felis concolor capricornensis] C57
    |         |--‘Felis’ c. coryi USDI77
    |         |--‘Felis’ c. costaricensis USDI77
    |         |--‘Felis’ c. cougar USDI77
    |         |--P. c. greeni (Nelson & Goldman 1931) [=Felis concolor greeni] C57
    |         |--P. c. hudsoni (Cabrera 1958) [=Felis concolor hudsoni] C57
    |         |--P. c. incarum (Nelson & Goldman 1929) [=Felis concolor incarum] C57
    |         |--‘Felis’ c. mayensis G69
    |         |--P. c. nigra Jardine 1834 (see below for synonymy) C57
    |         |--P. c. osgoodi (Nelson & Goldman 1929) [=Felis concolor osgoodi] C57
    |         |--P. c. pearsoni (Thomas 1901) (see below for synonymy) C57
    |         |--P. c. puma (Molina 1782) [=Felis concolor puma, F. (Uncia) puma] C57
    |         `--‘Felis’ c. schorgeri Jackson 1955 B75
    `--P. (Herpailurus Severtzow 1858) C57
         `--P. (H.) yagouaroundi (Geoffroy 1803) JE06, C57 (see below for synonymy)
              |--P. y. yagouaroundi [incl. Felis jaguarondi unicolor Traill 1819, Herpailurus yaguarondi unicolor] C57
              |--‘Felis’ y. ameghinoi Holmberg 1898 C57
              |--‘Felis’ y. cacomitli USDI77
              |--‘Felis’ y. eyra Fischer 1814 (see below for synonymy) C57
              |--‘Felis’ y. fossata G69
              |--‘Felis’ y. melantho Thomas 1914 [=F. yaguarondi melantho, Herpailurus yaguarondi melantho] C57
              |--‘Felis’ y. panamensis Allen 1904 (see below for synonymy) C57
              `--‘Felis’ y. tolteca G69

‘Felis’ yagouroundi eyra Fischer 1814 [=F. eira, Herpailus yagouaroundi eyra; incl. F. darwini Martin 1837, F. yaguarondi Lacépède in Azara 1809 non F. yagouaroundi Geoffroy 1803, *Herpailurus yaguarondi] C57

‘Felis’ yagouroundi panamensis Allen 1904 [=F. yaguarondi panamensis, Herpailurus yagouaroundi panamensis, H. yaguarondi panamensis] C57

*Puma (Puma) concolor (Linné 1771) C57, JE06, C57 [=Felis concolor C57, Leopardus concolor C57, Uncia concolor C57]

*Puma (Puma) concolor concolor (Linné 1771) [incl. Felis concolor var. soasoaranna Lesson 1842, F. sucuacuara Liais 1872, F. concolor var. wavula Lesson 1842] C57

Puma (Puma) concolor nigra Jardine 1834 non Felis nigra Erxleben 1777 (not preoc. as in dif. gen.) [=Felis concolor acrocodia Goldman 1943] C57

Puma (Puma) concolor pearsoni (Thomas 1901) [=Felis concolor pearsoni, F. (Uncia) puma pearsoni; incl. F. puma patagonica Merriam 1901, F. concolor patagonica, F. (Uncia) puma patagonica, Puma puma patagonica] C57

Puma (Herpailurus) yagouaroundi (Geoffroy 1803) JE06, C57 [=Felis jaguarondi C57, F. (Catopuma) yaguarundi C57, F. (Herpailurus) yagouaroundi C57, Herpailurus jaguarondi C57, H. jaguarundi C57, H. yaguarondi C57, Leopardus yagouarondi C57]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[B75] Bowles, J. B. 1975. Distribution and biogeography of mammals of Iowa. Special Publications, The Museum, Texas Tech University 9: 1–184.

[C57] Cabrera, A. 1957. Catalogo de los mamiferos de America del Sur. I (Metatheria—Unguiculata—Carnivora). Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia” e Instituto Nacional de Investigacion de Las Ciencias Naturales, Ciencias Zoológicas 4 (1): 1–307.

[G69] Goodwin, G. G. 1969. Mammals from the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, in the American Museum of Natural History. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 141 (1): 1–269, 40 pls.

[JE06] Johnson, W. E., E. Eizirik, J. Pecon-Slattery, W. J. Murphy, A. Antunes, E. Teeling & S. J. O’Brien. 2006. The Late Miocene radiation of modern Felidae: a genetic assessment. Science 311: 73–77.

[MB86] Matson, J. O. & R. H. Baker. 1986. Mammals of Zacatecas. Special Publications, Museum of Texas Tech University 24: 1–88.

[ME05] Moullé, P.-E., A. Echassoux, F. Lacombat, E. Desclaux & S. Bailon. 2005. L’environnement animal des premiers habitants de l’Europe méditerranéenne: les grands mammifères contemporains de l’homme du Vallonnet, données taxonomiques et biostratigraphiques pour la deuxième moitie du Pléistocène inférieur. BAR International Series 1364: 105–113.

[USDI77] USDI (United States Department of the Interior). 1977. Endangered and threatened wildlife and plants—republication of list of species. Federal Register 42: 36420–36431.