Cat member of the cat family, the felids, which are a rapidly evolving family of mammals that share a common ancestor only 10–15 million years ago and include lions, tigers, cougars and many others. Within this family, domestic cats ("Felis catus") are part of the genus "Felis", which is a group of small cats containing about seven species (depending upon classification scheme). Members of the genus are found worldwide and include the jungle cat ("Felis chaus") of southeast Asia, European wildcat ("F. silvestris silvestris"), African wildcat ("F. s. lybica"), the Chinese mountain cat ("F. bieti"), and the Arabian sand cat ("F.
Pampas cat it, while other do not. Populations in southern Chile and the southern part of Argentina, included in the nominate in the above list, have been recognised as the subspecies "L. p. crucinus" based on the large size (the largest Pampas cats) and dull pelage. More recent work, primarily genetic studies, failed to find support for a split at species level, although some geographical substructure was recognised. Several authors recognise the Pampas cat as a single species. Since 2017, the Cat Classification Taskforce of the Cat Specialist Group recognises the Pampas cat as a single species with seven subspecies: The Pampas