Taiwanese clouded leopard
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| Taiwanese clouded leopard | ||||||||||||
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Taiwanese clouded leopard ( Neofelis nebulosa brachyura ) |
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| Neofelis nebulosa brachyura | ||||||||||||
| ( Swinhoe , 1862) |
The Taiwan clouded leopard ( Neofelis nebulosa brachyura ) is a possibly extinct subspecies of the clouded leopard and was native to the island of Taiwan .
description
Robert Swinhoe first described the Taiwanese clouded leopard in 1862. Unlike its mainland relatives, its tail was shorter. However, later studies suggest that tail length is not a reliable differentiator. Studies by Andrew C. Kitchener et al. suggest that the holotype was a specimen from the pet trade with an incomplete tail.
habitat
It was the island's second largest predator after the Taiwanese black bear .
die out
The last confirmed sighting was in 1983. The last clouded leopards retreated to the mountainous areas of Yushan and Tawu. Above all, deforestation and hunting are the reasons for its extinction.
After 1983
In 1989 a clouded leopard skin appeared again from a young specimen, this was found in the area of Taroko National Park . Camera traps were set up in 377 locations in different areas of the island between 2000 and 2004. No leopards were photographed on a total of 13,354 camera days. A 13-year search ended in 2013, during which 1,500 infrared detectors and camera traps were set up in the three forest areas of Yushan (玉山), Dawushan (大武山) and Taroko National Park, with no signs of survival of the species being found . Disappointed Taiwanese zoologists commented on the negative study results and found that the stuffed specimen in the Taiwan National Museum was now the only remaining Taiwanese clouded leopard in their country. In February 2019, however, a clouded leopard was said to have been sighted in eastern Taiwan.
swell
- http://www.ausgestorbene-tiere.de/arten/m133.php
- (PDF, 3.3 MB)
- Taiwan's clouded leopard extinct: zoologists ( February 25, 2014 memento in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Andrew C. Kitchener, Mark A. Beaumont, Douglas Richardson: Geographical Variation in the Clouded Leopard, Neofelis nebulosa, Reveals Two Species. 2006 in: Current Biology 16, Issue 23, pp. 2377-2383. ( Online )
- ^ Formosan leopard extinct: zoologists. Taipei Times, May 1, 2013, accessed December 16, 2017 .
- ↑ www.taiwannews.com.tw, Keoni Everington: "Extinct" Formosan clouded leopard spotted in E. Taiwan . Last accessed February 23, 2019.
