Re: [tied] Re: The cat domestication happened more than 100,000 ye

From: Piotr Gasiorowski
Message: 49291
Date: 2007-07-03

Piotr Gasiorowski pisze:

> We can LABEL them as _Felis
> domestica_ for convenience...

Oops, they are actually labelled with the binomial name _Felis catus_
(Linnaeus, 1758). The International Commission on Zoological
Nomenclature recommends the more precise trinomial name _Felis
silvestris catus_ for the domesticated forms of the wildcat (_Felis
silvestris_). The name _Felis catus_ may still be used if the domestic
cat is CONSIDERED a separate species, but of course labelling it as such
doesn't change its cladistic position. If the systematic name were to
reflect the domestic cat's relationship to its closest cousins more
faithfully, it would have to be something at least quadrinomial like
"Felis silvestris lybica catus".

Piotr