Felis margarita

Geographic Range

This species is found in three distinct areas of the world: Sahara Desert of Africa in the countries of Algeria, Niger and Morocco; throughout the Arabian Peninsula; and parts of Central Asia including Turkmenistan, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

• Biogeographic Regions
• palearctic palearctic
  • native native
• ethiopian ethiopian
  • native native

Habitat

Members of this species are psammophillic (sand dwelling), occurring in very arid, dry habitats such as deserts. They are found in desert habitats ranging from plains with little vegetation to rocky valleys with shrubs and trees. They live in extreme conditions with daily surface temperatures reaching up to 51ºC during the daytime, while nighttime temperatures can drop as low as -0.5ºC.

• Habitat Regions
• temperate temperate
• terrestrial terrestrial

• Terrestrial Biomes
• desert or dune desert or dune

Physical Description

Felis margarita is the size of a domestic cat and the smallest of all wild cats, weighing between 2.1-3.4 kg (males) and 1.4-3.1 kg (females). Their most distinctive characteristic is their large ear pinnae, which protect the ears from blowing sand. The most highly developed senses of this species are hearing and smelling. Being nocturnal animals, they rely on sensitive hearing to locate prey moving below the surface of the ground. The tympanic meatus and auditory bulla are relatively much larger in this species than in any other felids. Thick fur of medium length covers the body and protects it from the harsh nighttime temperatures. Coat colors range from pale yellow to grey. They have dark brown to black stripes covering the tail and limbs and the eyes are accented with reddish-orange stripes. The chest and chin are always white. Another distinguishing characteristic of the species is the wiry, black fur that covers the pads of their feet, protecting them from the desert's hot surfaces. The hair aids in increasing the maneuverability through the sand. Researchers find this characteristic troublesome because it makes their footprints almost invisible.

• Other Physical Features
• endothermic endothermic
• homoiothermic
• bilateral symmetry bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• male larger

Reproduction

Sand cats are a solitary species and not much is known of their mating systems. It is believed that their hearing plays an important part in communication during the mating season.

Sand cats in captivity breed more than once a year. In the wild their reproductive seasons are dependent on location. In the deserts of the Sahara, the reproductive season begins in January and ends in April. In Turkmenistan, the season begins sometime in April. In Pakistan, the breeding season lasts from September to October. In part, the differences may be due to climate or availability of resources. The gestation period lasts, on average, 59-63 days. Sand cats give birth to between 1-8 kittens although 4-5 kittens are normal. Although sand cats are not sexually mature until 9-14 months, they are relatively independent at 6-8 months of age. Fast maturity may be an advantageous trait in such a hostile environment.

• Key Reproductive Features
• seasonal breeding seasonal breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual sexual
• viviparous viviparous

No information is available at this time.

• Parental Investment
• altricial altricial

Lifespan/Longevity

The sand cat is known to live 13 years in captivity, but they have a high juvenile mortality rate.

Behavior

Sand cats are not good climbers or jumpers, but they are excellent diggers. They use their digging ability to dig shallow burrows to escape the heat of the desert during the day. They are known to lie on their backs outside their burrows to release internal heat. Their burrows are shared with other individuals, but more than one cat never occupies the same burrow simultaneously. They are generally nocturnal, although members of a subspecies from Pakistan are nocturnal during the summer and active at dawn and dusk (crepuscular) during the winter. Because of their secretive habits, this species is poorly known, and it is suspected that their current population and distribution may be greater than estimated. Sand cats have been described to close their eyes at night when humans approach making them difficult to see them because they blend in with their environment.

• Key Behaviors
• terricolous
• nocturnal nocturnal
• crepuscular crepuscular
• motile motile
• sedentary sedentary
• solitary solitary

Home Range

Male and females have overlapping territories that are on average 16 km^2. They sometimes roam over distances of up to 8-10 km^2.

Communication and Perception

Bark-like sounds are used as mating calls to communicate between individuals. They allow individuals to locate one another over long distances.

• Communication Channels
• acoustic acoustic
• chemical chemical

• Perception Channels
• tactile tactile
• acoustic acoustic
• chemical chemical

Food Habits

Sand cats are mostly carnivorous and eat a variety of prey such as gerbils , sand voles , hares , spiders , reptiles , birds , insects and venomous snakes . This species are known to be “fearless snake hunters” that attack venomous vipers . They are considered opportunistic feeders that take what they can find in their barren habitat. Prey provide the sand cat with the fluids they need to live in places where there is little water.

• Primary Diet
• carnivore carnivore
  • eats terrestrial vertebrates
  • insectivore insectivore

• Animal Foods
• birds
• mammals
• amphibians
• reptiles
• insects
• terrestrial non-insect arthropods

• Foraging Behavior
• stores or caches food stores or caches food

Predation

Predators of sand cats include of snakes , jackals and owls . In addition to natural predators, the sand cat is also threatened by humans in the form of poisoning and capturing for the illegal pet trade. Overall, the sand cat is the least threatened of wild cats.

• Anti-predator Adaptations
• cryptic cryptic

Ecosystem Roles

The sand cat is considered a rare species. As a result, very little research has been conducted on this species. As with any species, they play an ecological role in their habitats. The sand cat preys on animals such as rodents, reptiles and birds and therefore the disappearance of this species may lead to an increase in the prey species. Because the sand cat is rare, it is probably not a species that is crucial to its predators such as owls, jackals and snakes.

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

The sand cat is part of the illegal pet trade. Researchers have sparked an interest in further studies of this species.

• Positive Impacts
• pet trade pet trade
• research and education

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

Perhaps because of its relatively small numbers, this species has not had negative impacts upon humans.

• Negative Impacts
• causes or carries domestic animal disease causes or carries domestic animal disease

Conservation Status

The sand cat is not well studied. Because they live in such vast, desert locations, it is hard to track the true number of individuals. This species is listed as Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) according to the IUCN. Their major threats are habitat loss and degradation. Human induced desertification can affect this desert dwelling species and their prey. Appendix II means that the species is not currently threatened by extinction, but could be if not monitored. They are listed as “near threatened” according to the IUCN World Conservation Union. According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the subspecies Felis margarita scheffeli from Pakistan is listed as endangered.

Other Comments

There are four subspecies of sand cat, each found in different areas: Felis margarita margarita found in North Africa, Felis margarita harrisoni found in Saudia Arabia, Felis margarita thinobia found in Turkmenistan and Felis margarita scheffeli found in Pakistan. Hemmer et al. (1976) found differences between cats found in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Felis m. margarita , of Africa, has a narrow skull, small carnassials, buffy-white colored paws and two to six rings on the tail. Felis m. harrisoni , from the Arabian Peninsula, has a broad skull, large carnassials, bright white paws and five to seven rings on the tail.

Additional Links

Encyclopedia of Life

Contributors

Matthew Wund (editor), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

Shanna Wheeler (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Phil Myers (editor, instructor), Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

References

Bunaian, F., S. Mashaqbeh, M. Yousef, A. Buduri, Z. Amr. 1998. A new record of the Sand Cat, Felis margarita, from Jordan. Zoology in the Middle East , 16: 5-7.

Cunningham, P. 2002. Status of the Sand Cat, Felis margarita, in the United Arab Emirates. Zoology in the Middle East , 25: 9-14.

Garman, A. 1997. "Sand Cat Felis margarita" (On-line). Big Cats Online. Accessed February 03, 2004 at http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/agarman/sandcat.htm .

Goodman, S., I. Helmy. 1986. The sand cat Felis margarita Loche, 1858 in Egypt. Mammalia , volume 50, number 1: 120-123.

IUCN World Conservation Union. 1996. "Sand Cat Felis margarita Locke 1858" (On-line). IUCN World Conservation Union. Accessed January 29, 2004 at http://lynx.uio.no/catfolk/sandct01.htm .

International Society for Endangered Cats Canada. 2002. "Sand Cat" (On-line). International Society for Endangered Cats Canada. Accessed February 09, 2004 at http://www.wildcatconservation.org/cats/factsheets/africa/sand/index.shtml .

Saint Louis Zoo. 2003. "Sand Cat" (On-line). Saint Louis Zoo. Accessed February 03, 2004 at http://www.stlzoo.org/animals/abouttheanimals/mammals/carnivores/sandcat.htm .

International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. 2004. "Species Information Felis margarita" (On-line). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Accessed February 02, 2004 at http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php?species=8541 .

2004. "The CITES Appendices" (On-line). CITES. Accessed February 02, 2004 at http://www.cites.org/eng/append/index.shtml .

The Cat Survival Trust. 1996. "The Sand Cat Felis margarita Loche" (On-line). The Cat Survival Trust. Accessed January 29, 2004 at http://members.aol.com/cattrust/sand.htm .