The big cats and their fossil relatives an illustrated guide to their evolution and natural history - Большие кошки и их ископаемые родственники: иллюстрированное руководство по их эволюции и естественной истории

Only seven extant large-bodied cats survive from the important and remarkably diverse radiations of felid carnivores since mid- Tertiary times, some 25 million years (Ma) ago. Fortunately these surviving felines are quite readily distinguished morphologically, differ substantially in body size, exhibit some distinctive predatory behaviors and killing practices, and manifest a variety of territorial behaviors and social groupings. Thus the extant species of the genera Panthera (lion, leopard, tiger, jaguar, and snow leopard), Felis (puma or cougar), and Acinonyx (cheetah) afford invaluable insights into the adaptations, diversifications, and behaviors of one tribe (Felini) of the ever-fascinating, however fearsome, big cats. There is a fundamental human attraction, tempered by trepidation, toward these animals, among the most visited and admired in zoological gardens and much prized when observed in natural habitats. Yet all have shrunk substantially in geographic distribution within recorded history, and they have experienced significant reduction in numbers in this century. <...>