Rusty-spotted Cat
Prionailurus rubiginosis
Photo - Andrei Kotkin
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Rusty-spotted Cat Prionailurus rubiginosis
Photo - Andrei Kotkin |
Body Length(mm) -350-450 Weight (kg) - 1-2 average Litter Size - 1-2 average Life Span - No data Status - Insufficiently Know
P.r.koladivinus - Sri Lanka P.r.phillipsi - Sri Lanka P.r.rubiginosus - Southern India |
The
Rusty-spotted Cat is named after its specific markings.
The base fur is usually grey in colour and is covered by
small rust red coloured spots which form into solid
stripes along the back and on the top of the head - the
underparts of the body, the chest bib and the chin are
white. It is one of the smallest of the wild cat species,
measuring up to about 18 inches in the body with a tail
of no more than half its body length. It is native only
to Central and Southern India and to Sri Lanka. The two
sub-species found on Sri Lanka P.r.phillipsi and
P.r.koladivinus are in general more brightly coloured
than P.r.rubiginosus, which is only found on the Indian
mainland. The habitat of the Sri Lankan rusty-spotted
cats seem to differ from that of the Indian species,
which found mainly in dry grassland, scrubland and open
foreset - in Sri Lanka the cat is also to be found in
dense tropical upland forests as well as terrain similar
to its Indian relative. Little is known of the lifestyle of this small cat, although its has been observed to be mainly nocturnal, arboreal to a degree and in keeping with the cats size hunt mainly small rodents, insects and amphibians. The main threat to the rusty-spotted cat is that of habitat loss although trade in furs is present in parts of its range. The Indian subspecies are listed in CITES Appendix 1 and the Sri Lankan sub-species in CITES Appendix 2.
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