Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa)

[BorneanTiger]

Andrew C. Kitchener, Mark A. Beaumont, and Douglas Richardson: Geographical Variation in the Clouded Leopard, Neofelis nebulosa, Reveals Two Species, 5th of December 2006: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...24912#bib8

"Groves [8], in the context of primate taxonomy, has strongly advocated the use of the PSC (phylogenetic species concept) for taxonomic studies of this kind. The PSC relies on recognition of species when populations are 100% diagnostically distinct with at least one characteristic and has been applied in a wide range of taxa (reviewed in [6]). On the basis of the cloud sizes on clouded-leopard pelages, all mainland (including the Taiwanese brachyura) clouded leopards are fully distinguishable from Indonesian animals, and hence, they should be recognized as distinct phylogenetic species (Figure 3). Therefore, we recommend the recognition of two species of clouded leopard as diagnosed below:

Neofelis nebulosa (Griffith, 1821 [15]), including Felis macrosceloides (Hodgson, 1853 [16], in the Himalayan region comprising Sikkim, Nepal and Bhutan), Leopardus brachyurus, (Swinhoe, 1863 [17], the Formosan clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa brachyura) in Taiwan).

Distribution: Mainland Asia, including the Nepal, Sikkim, Assam, Burma, China, Indochina and Malaya, and the island of Taiwan.

Diagnosis: On shoulders, large cloud-like markings, which extend the full depth of the flank and slope back from the dorsal midline, with mostly few spots within the clouds; a partially double dorsal stripe; pale, often tawny ground coloration (Figure 3).

Neofelis diardi (Cuvier, 1823 [18]).

Distribution: Sumatra and Borneo, including the Batu Islands.

Diagnosis: On shoulders, small irregular cloud-like markings, which form two or more rows that are arranged vertically from the dorsal midline on the flank, with frequent spots within clouds; ground coloration that is overall grayish yellow or gray hue; a double dorsal stripe (Figure 3)."

*This image is copyright of its original author

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