How many breeds of cats do you know? These domestic animals have several and only few of them are truly ancient.
According to the estimates of different organizations, dedicated to gatosthey exist between 40 and 50 races of these domestic animals. The surprising thing is that, according to a study published in the scientific journal Animal Geneticsat least 34 of the total were created in the last 75 years.
First, the felines
At the outset, we must be clear that the group of mammals to which cats belong is that of the felines. Las 37 species of the family Felidaethat we know to date, evolved from a common ancestor that probably lived in Asia between ago 10 or 12 million years.
It is estimated that it does 3 million years felines enjoyed a great variety of species populating almost the entire Earth, except for Antarctica. The fact that these animals have achieved such a wide distribution was probably due to their natural behavior of dispersing and searching for their own territoryand also the need to follow prey species.
Where do different cat breeds come from?
Our ancestors began domesticating cats sometime between 10 or 12 thousand years. The place that saw the birth of one of our strongest links with another species was the Fertile Crescenta historic region of Near East.
Having left nomadism and starting to develop activities such as agriculture were key steps to strengthen ties with domestic felines.
To the pass of the years Cats have developed a wide range of coat colors.. This, under natural conditions, has followed an evolutionary necessity that puts the camouflage of these hunters.
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To answer the question, we have an iresearch published in the magazine Genomicswhich was given the task of reconstruct the family tree of modern cats.
According to the study, five groups of races would derive the origin of most cats of our time. These are:
- Asian races (11)
- Wild (3)
- East africa (3)
- Europa Occidental (17)
- Mediterranean Basin (8)
There we have it. Cats are a diverse species. Another enigma about them is their enormous variety of eyes. We leave you another text so you can discover where the dazzling comes from diversity of colors that have.
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