Turkestan lynx

The Turkestan lynx (Lynx lynx isabellinus) is a subspecies of Eurasian lynx native to Central Asia. It is also known as Central Asian lynx, Tibetan lynx or Himalayan lynx. It is widespread from Central Asia, continental South Asia to China and Mongolia. About 27,000 mature individuals have been estimated to occur in China as of 2013.[2]

Turkestan lynx
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Felinae
Genus: Lynx
Species:
L. lynx
Subspecies:
L. l. isabellinus
Trinomial name
Lynx lynx isabellinus
(Blyth, 1847)[1]
Synonyms

Lynx lynx tibetanus (Gray, 1863), Lynx lynx kamensis (Satunin, 1905)

Taxonomy

Felis isabellina was the scientific name proposed by Edward Blyth in 1847 for a lynx skin from Tibet.[3] Lynx lynx wardi was proposed by Richard Lydekker in 1904. However, most authors considered it as synonymous to Lynx lynx isabelinus.[4] Further investigations are in need in order to declare it whether as a separate subspecies or not. As of today, wardi is sometimes regarded as a synonym to isabellinus.[2][1]

Distribution and habitat

The Turkestan lynx occurs in Central Asia from Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan to Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan and China. It lives mostly in open woodlands, steppe and rocky hills.[2] In the Indian Himalayas, individuals were sighted at an elevation of 4,900 m (16,100 ft) in Hemis National Park and at 4,800 m (15,700 ft) on the Changtang Plateau in Ladakh.[5][6]

Conservation

The Turkestan lynx has been protected under Schedule I of India's Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.[6] In Afghanistan, it is considered threatened.[7] It is listed as Near Threatened on Pakistan's and Mongolia's national Red Lists.[8][9] It is listed as Endangered in China,[10] Turkmenistan,[11] Tajikistan[12] and as Vulnerable in Nepal[13] and Uzbekistan.[14]

References
  1. Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). "Subspecies Lynx lynx isabellinus". Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 541. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. Breitenmoser, U.; Breitenmoser-Würsten, C.; Lanz, T.; von Arx, M.; Antonevich, A.; Bao, W. & Avgan, B. (2015). "Lynx lynx". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T12519A121707666.
  3. Blyth, E. (1847). "Report of Curator, Zoological Department, for September 1847". The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 16 (2): 1176–1182.
  4. Wozencraft, W. C. (2008). "Genus Lynx". In Smith, A. T.; Xie, Y. (eds.). A Guide to the Mammals of China. Princeton: Princeton University Press. pp. 396–397. ISBN 978-1400834112.
  5. Sharma, S. & Dutta, T. (2005). "Sighting of Lynx (Lynx lynx isabellinus) in Hemis National Park, Ladakh". Zoo's Print. 20 (4): 14.
  6. Kotia, A.; Angmo, K. & Rawat, G. S. (2011). "Sighting of a Eurasian lynx near Chushul village in Ladakh, India". Cat News (54): 18–19.
  7. Habibi, K. (2003). "Himalayan Lynx Lynx lynx isabellina (Linnaeus, 1758)". Mammals of Afghanistan. Coimbatore, India: Zoo Outreach Organization. pp. 49–50.
  8. Sheikh, K. M.; Molur, S., eds. (2004). "Himalayan lynx Lynx lynx isabellina Blyth, 1847". Status and Red List of Pakistan's Mammals. Based on the Conservation Assessment and Management Plan (PDF). Islamabad: IUCN Pakistan. p. 230.
  9. Clark, E.L.; Javzansuren, M.; Dulamtseren, S.; Baillie, J.E.M.; Batsaikhan, N.; Samiya, R. & Stubbe, M. (2006). "93. Lynx lynx (Linnaeus, 1758)". Mongolian Red List of Mammals. Regional Red List Series. Vol. 1. London: Zoological Society of London. p. 95–96.
  10. Jiang, Z.; Jiang, J.; Wang, Y.; Zhang, E. (2016). "Red List of China's Vertebrates". Biodiversity Science. 24 (5): 500–551. doi:10.17520/biods.2016076.
  11. Annabayramov, B.; Saparmyradov, J.; Karyyeva, O.; Potayeva, A.; Atayev, K.; Kokanova, E.; Durdyev, S.; Rustamov, E. & Shammakov, S. (2011). The Red Data Book of the Republic of Turkmenistan. Vol. 2. Invertebrate and vertebrate animals (Third ed.). Ashgabat, Turkmenistan: Ilim.
  12. Kurbonov, S. & Toshev, A. (2015). The Red Data Book of Tajikistan: Flora and Fauna (Second ed.). Dushanbe, Tajikistan: Donish.
  13. Jnawali, S.R.; Baral, H.S.; Lee, S.; Acharya, K.P.; Upadhyay, G.P.; Pandey, M.; Shrestha, R.; Joshi, D.; Laminchhane, B.R.; Griffiths, J.; Khatiwada, A.P.; Subedi, N. & Amin, R. (2011). "Lynx lynx (Linnaeus, 1758)". The Status of Nepal Mammals (PDF). The National Red List Series. Kathmandu, Nepal: Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation. p. 82–83. ISBN 9780900881602.
  14. Esipov A.V. (2009). "Lynx". In Azimov, J.A. (ed.). The Red Data Book of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Vol. 2. Animals. Tashkent, Uzbekistan: Chinor ENK, Uzbek Zoology Institute. pp. 192–193.
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