Iriomote wildcat (Iriomote wildcat) - Iriomote wildcat (English spelling)

Japanese: イリオモテヤマネコ(西表山猫) - イリオモテヤマネコ（英語表記）Iriomote cat

A carnivorous mammal of the Felidae family, slightly larger than a domestic cat and with a thick tail. A native of Iriomote Island, Okinawa Prefecture, it was discovered in 1965. It is 50-60 cm long, with a tail length of about 25 cm, and weighs 2-5 kg. It resembles the Bengal leopard cat in that it has rounded ears with a white spot in the center of their backs, and dark bands running front to back on a dark gray-brown background on its sides, but it has one pair less teeth (28 in all), a smaller brain, and a lowered waist. Also, unlike all cats, its anal glands open into the perineum, it has a strong foul odor, and does not purr. It is considered a "living fossil" closely related to the fossil Metairurus, due to its sharp rear edges of canines and narrow attachment points for the temporalis muscle.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

イエネコよりやや大きく尾が太い食肉目ネコ科の哺乳類。沖縄県西表島の特産，1965年に発見された。体長50～60cm，尾長約25cm，体重2～5kg。耳介が丸くその背面中央に白斑があり，体側には暗灰褐色の地に前後に走る暗色帯があるなどベンガルヤマネコに似るが，歯は1対少なく28本，脳が小さく，腰が下がっている。またすべてのネコ類と異なり，肛門腺が会陰部に開いていて悪臭が強く，のどを鳴らさない。犬歯後縁が鋭く，側頭筋の付着部が狭いなどの点から化石のメタイルルスに近縁の〈生きている化石〉と考えられている。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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