The Names of the Wild Cats II

This article tells us about the Margay, the Leopardus wiedii. It is a spotted cat native to South America which also has the capacity of climbing head first down trees. Its ankles can turn up to 180 degrees. A good picture is here. The word Leopardus is a combination of leo the "lion" and pardus, the "panther" or "leopard." But the wiedii looks interesting. Actually, it is named after Prince Maximilan of Wied-Neuwied. Wied-Neuwied was a regional state a few hundred years ago which is located in the current state of Rheinland-Pfalz. Germany didn't become unified until the mid-19th century, and before that time it was divided into more than 300 small principalities. Maximilian (1782-1867) led two major scientific expeditions to the New World, the first of which focused on tropical forests in Brazil (1815-1817). In addition to the Margay, he first described the red-eared slider (turtle), the western chorus frog and the spring peeper. Thus, by learning the Latin name of the Margay, we are encouraged to learn about the history of description of the fauna of the world in the 19th century. Actually, the word "Margay" comes from the mid-18th century, in Buffon's classification of 1765. From 1838 we have this: "Buffon describes a margay, which name, after Abbeville, he derives from...maragaya, the appellation he supposes to be given to it in Brazil." Enough...

The interesting thing about the ocelot is not its Latin name, but the derivation of its common name. The Latin is relatively straightforward (Leopardus pardalis or Felis pardalis), but the word ocelot comes from the Nahuatl language. Nahuatl (pronounced NAH waht il) is one of the best-preserved languages of the Aztecs from ancient Mexico. It is still spoken by Comanche, Pima, Shoshone and other tribes of the western North America. The word ocelot is derived from tlalocelotl, which means "field jaguar" (tlalli means "earth" and ocelotl means "jaguar"). We have other words constructed similarly, such as axolotl, a reptile found in Mexican lakes and resembling the salamander in appearance.

Several Other "Wild Cats"

I have only given about five or so derivations, out of 36 species of "wild cats." Let's go much more quickly now. The Andean Mountain Cat, the most endangered cat in the Americas, is known as the Oreailurus jacobita or the Leopardus jacobitus. It rarely lives in elevations below 10,000 feet and can reach an elevation of as much as 16,000 feet. Its coat is silvery-gray in color, but is adorned with short strips, blotches and spots of brown and orange. The word Oreailurus means "mountain cat" and the jacobita refers to some person whom I couldn't easily find. Its sightings are so rare that this web site (where there is a picture) estimates that there were only 10 documented sightings in the last 25 years.

The popular Bobcat (Lynx rufus) inhabits North America and, even though hunted every year by thousands of hunters, seems to be in no danger of extinction. Its status is listed as "least concern." The rufus part of the name means "reddish" or "brownish red," which sort of captures the variable tan to grayish brown color of its coat. But I am interested in the word "lynx," because it captures the Genus name and popular name of many a wild cat. It is ultimately derived from the Greek verb leussein, which means "to see," and emphasizes the sharpness of vision of the Bobcat. Thus, think of its eyes, and its vision, and you will have another word that you can call your own.

The Caracal (Felis caracal or Caracal caracal--no, I am not needlessly repeating myself!), is a cat found in north Africa and south-western Asia. Most think it is the "lynx" of ancient texts to describe an animal with wonderful power of sight. Since the ears are the most prominent part of this cat, we should be glad to discover that the Turkish qarah-qulaq means "black-ear," according to the OED.

The Cheetah always arouses interest because of its speed. It can go from "zero to 60" faster than any car out there on the market. Its common name comes originally from the Sanskrit meaning "speckled" or "variegated," and is the "hunting leopard...which is tamed and used for hunting deer in India." A picture is here. Its Linnaean name is complex--Acinonyx jubatus. The word jubatus means "maned," or "having long pendant hairs in a continued series." The Genus name is derived from two words: (1) onyx, which means "claw" and (2) Acin..., which means "unmoveable" or "unretractable." We know that the Cheetah is one of the few cats with unretractable claws. Thus, a great description is in the name. One other feature of the Cheetah interests me. Black "tear marks" run from the corner of its eyes down the side of its nose to its mouth. Like the baseball outfielder who puts black under his eyes to ward off the sun, so these natural "tear marks" keep sunlight out of its eyes and aid in hunting and seeing long distances. I wonder why nature doesn't select future outfielders by having them be born with these natural tear streaks under the eyes...

Conclusion

We could spend lots more time marching through the 36 species of wild cats and what the Genus/species names mean, but I will close with a few brief mentions. The Flat-headed Cat is the Prionailurus planiceps. It is really an interesting creature; here is a picture. The name means "saw-like flat-headed cat." Prionailurus describes the tearing quality of the teeth. By the way, this cat is found in Borneo primarily, and lives near another wild cat, the Bay Cat, Felis badia. From that name we know that the Bay Cat lives near the water--indeed, it is one of the few wild cats which likes to live in the water. Finally, there is the Jungle Cat (Felis chaus). It is widely distributed over Egypt, West and Central Asia, India, Sri Lanka and inhabits many types of places. But the word chaus in its name is interesting. It is derived from the Turkish word chaush, which means a messenger or sergeant. We have the word chiaus in English to express the same thought. I don't know quite why it was so called, but I am sure that deeper digging would have yielded up this secret.

There still are several more wild cats, but this is enough to show you how much you really learn by tracking down and appreciating the Linnaean names of these cats. Indeed, a whole word, much larger than the cats themselves, opens to you...

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