Felis lanea

Encyclopedia : F : FE : FEL : Felis lanea

Felis lanea is a cheetah that is 50% larger than an ordinary cheetah and has thick wool on its neck, ears, and tail.

When it was first discovered in 1877 scientists of the time believed it was a new species and dubbed it Felis lanea. Only three specimens have ever been documented one of which was displayed in London Zoo. In 1978 Roy Robinson an expert on cats proposed that it was simply a genetic disorder like the white tigers of Rewa and white lions of Timbavati.

Owing to no reported sightings since 1890's the species is currently presumed to be extinct.

If it is (or was) a new species it would have to be renamed Acionyx lanea.

It would be interesting to compare this creature with the King Cheetah.

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.