Geographic variation in jungle cat (Felis chaus Schreber, 1777) (Mammalia, Carnivora, Felidae) body size: Is competition responsible?

Shomita Mukherjee*, Colin Groves

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    5 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    There is a striking difference in body size of jungle cats (Felis chaus) in the west and the east of their distribution, with Israeli cats being 43% heavier than Indian cats. We tested the hypothesis that increasing competition from other small felids towards the east is responsible for the difference in body size. We measured jungle cat skulls for eight cranial and dental variables and related these to independent variables such as species richness (local and regional), latitude, longitude, temperature, and precipitation. Data from a narrow band between latitudes 24.0°N and 33.9°N, where Bergmann's rule was largely not observed, showed that the western population (≤ 50.0°E longitude) of jungle cats is larger than the eastern (> 60.0°E longitude) population with the size difference being most evident in the upper carnassials (P4L). Species richness at the regional level showed a significant negative relation to P4L. An even spacing in condylobasal length for a small-cat guild from India through null model analysis indicated the occurrence of character displacement. The results support the hypothesis that competition is responsible for geographical variation in jungle cat body size in the region where Bergmann's rule does not apply.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)163-172
    Number of pages10
    JournalBiological Journal of the Linnean Society
    Volume92
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Sept 2007

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