Felinae

Felinae
Temporal range: MioceneHolocene,
Clockwise, an ocelot, a European wildcat, a cougar and a cheetah
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Felinae
Fischer von Waldheim, 1817
Type genus
Felis
Genera

See §Taxonomy

Native ranges of Felinae

The small cats or Felinae are a subfamily of Felidae distinguished by their bony hyoids, which let them purr but not roar. Other authors have proposed an alternative definition for this subfamily, as comprising only the living conical-toothed cat genera with two tribes, the Felini and Pantherini, and excluding the extinct sabre-toothed Machairodontinae.