Flat-headed cat

{{short description|Small wild cat}} {{Speciesbox | name = Flat-headed cat | image = Flat-headed cat 1 Jim Sanderson.JPG | status = EN | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |date=2015 |title=''Prionailurus planiceps'' |name-list-style=amp |author=Wilting, A. |author2=Brodie, J. |author3=Cheyne, S. |author4=Hearn, A. |author5=Lynam, A. |author6=Mathai, J. |author7=McCarthy, J. |author8=Meijaard, E. |author9=Mohamed, A. |author10=Ross, J. |author11=Sunarto, S. |author12=Traeholt, C. |article-number=e.T18148A50662095 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T18148A50662095.en |access-date=16 January 2022}}</ref> | status2 = CITES_A1 | status2_system = CITES | status2_ref = <ref name=iucn/> | genus = Prionailurus | species = planiceps<ref name=msw3>{{MSW3 Wozencraft |id=14000194 |page=543 |heading=Species ''Prionailurus planiceps''}}</ref> | authority = (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827) | range_map = Flat-headedCat distribution2015.jpg | range_map_alt = Map showing Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo | range_map_caption = Distribution of the flat-headed cat, 2015<ref name=iucn /> }}

The '''flat-headed cat''' ('''''Prionailurus planiceps''''') is a small wild cat with short reddish-brown fur. Its head is elongated, and its ears are rounded. Its slender body is {{cvt|41|to|50|cm}} long with a tail of {{cvt|13|to|15|cm}}, and it weighs {{cvt|1.5|to|2.5|kg}}.

The flat-headed cat was first described in 1827 based on a zoological specimen collected in Sumatra. It is also native to the Thai-Malay Peninsula and Borneo, and inhabits wetlands like mixed freshwater swamp forests, peat swamp forests and lowland freshwater swamps near rivers and coastal areas. It preys foremost on fish, frogs and crustaceans.

The flat-headed cat is threatened by habitat destruction due to conversion for settlements, agriculture and oil palm plantations. It has been listed on the IUCN Red List as Endangered since 2008.

== Taxonomy == The scientific name ''Felis planiceps'' was proposed by Nicholas Aylward Vigors and Thomas Horsfield in 1827, who first described a skin of a flat-headed cat specimen collected in Sumatra.<ref name="v+h1827"/> ''Prionailurus'' was proposed by Nikolai Severtzov in 1858 as generic name for spotted wild cats native to Asia. He proposed the generic name ''Ictailurus'' for the flat-headed cat.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Severtzow |first1=M. N. |year=1858 |title=Notice sur la classification multisériale des Carnivores, spécialement des Félidés, et les études de zoologie générale qui s'y rattachent |journal=Revue et Magasin de Zoologie Pure et Appliquée |volume=X |pages=385–396 |url=https://archive.org/stream/revueetmagasinde10soci#page/386/mode/2up}}</ref>

In 1951, Ellerman and Morrison-Scott grouped the flat-headed cat with the fishing cat (''P. viverrinus''), assuming it occurs in Lower Siam, Patani, the Malay States, Sumatra and Borneo.<ref name=ems66>{{cite book |author=Ellerman, J. R. |author2=Morrison-Scott, T. C. S. |name-list-style=amp |year=1966 |title=Checklist of Palaearctic and Indian mammals 1758 to 1946 |edition=Second |publisher=British Museum of Natural History |location=London |url=https://archive.org/stream/checklistofindia00elle#page/314/mode/2up}}</ref> It was subordinated to the genus ''Prionailurus'' by Ingrid Weigel in 1961 who compared fur patterns of wild and domestic cats.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Weigel, I. |year=1961 |title=Das Fellmuster der wildlebenden Katzenarten und der Hauskatze in vergleichender und stammesgeschichtlicher Hinsicht |trans-title=The fur pattern of wild cat species and of the domestic cat in comparative and phylogenetic aspects |issue=9 |journal=Säugetierkundliche Mitteilungen |pages=1–120}}</ref> It was grouped into ''Ictailurus'' in 1997 following a study on mitochondrial genes of cat species.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/PL00000060 |pmid=9071018 |title=Phylogenetic reconstruction of the Felidae using 16S rRNA and NADH-5 mitochondrial genes |year=1997 |last1=Johnson |first1=W. E.|last2=O'Brien|first2=S. J. |name-list-style=amp |journal=Journal of Molecular Evolution |volume=44 |issue=S1 |pages=S98–116 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1232587 |bibcode=1997JMolE..44S..98J |s2cid=40185850}}</ref> Today, it is still considered to be a ''Prionailurus'' species.<ref name=msw3/><ref name=Kitchener2017>{{cite journal |author1=Kitchener, A. C. |author2=Breitenmoser-Würsten, C. |author3=Eizirik, E. |author4=Gentry, A. |author5=Werdelin, L. |author6=Wilting, A. |author7=Yamaguchi, N. |author8=Abramov, A. V. |author9=Christiansen, P. |author10=Driscoll, C. |author11=Duckworth, J. W. |author12=Johnson, W. |author13=Luo, S.-J. |author14=Meijaard, E. |author15=O'Donoghue, P. |author16=Sanderson, J. |author17=Seymour, K. |author18=Bruford, M. |author19=Groves, C. |author20=Hoffmann, M. |author21=Nowell, K. |author22=Timmons, Z. |author23=Tobe, S. |name-list-style=amp |year=2017 |title=A revised taxonomy of the Felidae: The final report of the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group |journal=Cat News |issue=Special Issue 11 |url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/32616/A_revised_Felidae_Taxonomy_CatNews.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y}}</ref>

=== Phylogeny === Phylogenetic analysis of the nuclear DNA in tissue samples from all Felidae species revealed that their evolutionary radiation began in Asia in the Miocene around {{mya|14.45|8.38}}.<ref name=Johnson2006>{{cite journal |last1=Johnson |first1=W. E. |last2=Eizirik |first2=E. |last3=Pecon-Slattery |first3=J. |last4=Murphy |first4=W. J. | author5=Antunes, A. |author6=Teeling, E. |author7=O'Brien, S. J. |name-list-style=amp |year=2006 |doi=10.1126/science.1122277 |title=The Late Miocene radiation of modern Felidae: A genetic assessment |journal=Science |volume=311 |pages=73–77 |pmid=16400146 |issue=5757|url=https://zenodo.org/record/1230866 |bibcode=2006Sci...311...73J|s2cid=41672825 }}</ref><ref name=Werdelin2010>{{cite book |last1=Werdelin |first1=L. |last2=Yamaguchi |first2=N. |last3=Johnson |first3=W. E. |last4=O'Brien |first4=S. J. |name-list-style=amp |chapter=Phylogeny and evolution of cats (Felidae) |year=2010 |pages=59–82 |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266755142 |editor1-last=Macdonald |editor1-first=D. W. |editor2-last=Loveridge |editor2-first=A. J. |title=Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford, UK |isbn=978-0-19-923445-5}}</ref> Analysis of mitochondrial DNA of Felidae species indicates a radiation at around {{mya|16.76|6.46}}.<ref name=Li_al2016>{{cite journal |author=Li, G. |author2=Davis, B. W. |author3=Eizirik, E. |name-list-style=amp |author4=Murphy, W. J. |year=2016 |title=Phylogenomic evidence for ancient hybridization in the genomes of living cats (Felidae) |journal=Genome Research |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=1–11 |doi=10.1101/gr.186668.114 |pmid=26518481 |pmc=4691742}}</ref> Both models agree in the rusty-spotted cat (''P. rubiginosus'') having been the first cat of the ''Prionailurus'' lineage that genetically diverged, followed by the flat-headed cat and then the fishing cat.<ref name=Johnson2006/><ref name=Li_al2016/> It is estimated to have diverged together with the leopard cat (''P. bengalensis'') between {{mya|4.31|1.74}}<ref name=Johnson2006/> and {{mya|4.25|0.02}}.<ref name=Li_al2016/>

The following cladogram shows their phylogenetic relationship as derived through analysis of nuclear DNA:<ref name=Johnson2006/><ref name=Werdelin2010/> {{cladogram |align=left |style=font-size:90%;line-height:100%;width:500px; |cladogram={{clade |label1=Felidae |1={{clade |label1=Felinae |1={{clade |1={{clade |1={{clade |label1='''''Prionailurus''''' |1={{clade |1={{clade |1={{clade |1={{clade |1=Leopard cat |2=Fishing Cat }} |2='''Flat-headed cat''' }} |2=Rusty-spotted cat }} }} |2=Pallas's cat (''O. manul'') |label2=''Otocolobus''}} }} |2=other Felinae lineages }} |2=Pantherinae }} }} }} {{clear}}

== Characteristics == The flat-headed cat is reddish-brown on top of the head, dark roan brown on the body with a mottled white underbelly. Its face is lighter in colour than the body, and its muzzle and chin are white. Two prominent buff whitish streaks run on either side of the nose between the eyes. It has rounded ears, and its eyes are set close together, giving it improved stereoscopic vision. The teeth together with well-muscled jaws facilitate catching and retaining slippery prey. The legs are fairly short, and the sheaths of its retractile claws are reduced in size so that about two-thirds are protruding.<ref name=WCoW>{{cite book |author1=Sunquist, M. |author2=Sunquist, F. |name-list-style=amp |title=Wild Cats of the World |year=2002 |publisher=The University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |isbn=0-226-77999-8 |chapter=Flat-headed Cat ''Prionailurus planiceps'' (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827) |pages=233–236 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/wildcatsofworld00sunq/page/233}}</ref> The depressed skull extends along the nose to the extremity of the muzzle, the sides of which are laterally distended. The head itself is lengthened and cylindrical, and the teeth are unusually long. The body is slender, and the extremities are delicate and lengthened.<ref name="v+h1827">{{cite journal |author=Vigors, N. A. |author2=Horsfield, T. |name-list-style=amp |year=1827 |title=Description of two Species of the genus ''Felis'', in the collection of the Zoological Society |journal=The Zoological Journal |volume=III |pages=449–450 |url=https://archive.org/stream/zoologicaljourna318271828sowe#page/448/mode/2up}}</ref> The anterior upper premolars are larger and sharper relative to other cats. The interdigital webs on its paws help the cat gain better traction in muddy environments and water.<ref name=Nowell1996>{{cite book |author=Nowell, K. |author2=Jackson, P. |name-list-style=amp |year=1996 |chapter=Flat-headed Cat. ''Prionailurus planiceps'' |title=Wild Cats: status survey and conservation action plan |publisher=IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group |location=Gland, Switzerland |chapter-url=http://www.catsg.org/catsgportal/cat-website/catfolk/plani-01.htm |archive-date=2009-07-15 |access-date=2008-04-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090715024133/http://www.catsg.org/catsgportal/cat-website/catfolk/plani-01.htm }}</ref>

It has a head-and-body length of {{cvt|41|to|50|cm}} and a short tail of {{cvt|13|to|15|cm}}.<ref name=WCoW/> It weighs {{cvt|1.5|to|2.5|kg}}.<ref>{{cite book |author=Francis, C. |year=2001 |title=A Photographic Guide to Mammals of South-east Asia including Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Java, Sumatra, Bali and Borneo |publisher=New Holland |isbn=1-85974-507-5}}</ref>

== Distribution and habitat == [[File:Prionailurus planiceps cropped.png|thumb|A flat-headed cat seen by a camera trap in Tangkulap Forest Reserve, Sabah, Malaysia in March 2009<ref name="wilting+al2010"/>]] The flat-headed cat's distribution is restricted to lowland tropical rainforests in extreme southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo. It primarily inhabits freshwater habitats near coastal and lowland areas. More than 70% of records were collected less than {{cvt|3|km}} away from water.<ref name="wilting+al2010">{{cite journal |last1=Wilting, A. |last2=Cord, A. |last3=Hearn, A. J. |last4=Hesse, D. |last5=Mohamed, A. |last6=Traeholdt, C. |last7=Cheyne, S. M. |last8=Sunarto, S. |last9=Jayasilan, M. |last10=Ross, J. |last11=Shapiro, A. C. |last12=Sebastian, A. |last13=Dech, S. |last14=Breitenmoser, C. |last15=Sanderson, J. |last16=Duckworth, J. W. |last17=Hofer, H. |name-list-style=amp |title=Modelling the Species Distribution of Flat-headed Cats (''Prionailurus planiceps''), an Endangered South-East Asian Small Felid |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0009612 |year=2010 |journal=PLOS One |volume=5 |issue=3 |article-number=e9612 |pmid=20305809 |pmc=2840020 |bibcode=2010PLoSO...5.9612W |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In peninsular Malaysia, flat-headed cats were recorded in Pasoh Forest Reserve in 2013 less than {{cvt|1.5|km}} away from oil palm plantations. This detection suggests that the flat-headed cat is more tolerant of changes in its surrounding environment than previously assumed.<ref name="wadey+al2014">{{cite journal |last1=Wadey, J. |last2=Fletcher, C. |last3=Campos-Arceiz |name-list-style=amp |title=First Photographic Evidence of Flat-Headed Cats (''Prionailurus planiceps'') in Pasoh Forest Reserve, Peninsular Malaysia |year=2014 |journal=Tropical Conservation Science |volume=7 |issue=2 |page=174 |doi=10.1177/194008291400700201 |doi-access=free}}</ref> As Pasoh Forest Reserve contains no major rivers or lakes and is generally covered by hill dipterocarp forest, this detection provides new evidence of the flat-headed cat's potential habitat range. The reserve ranks as low probability of occurrence in a previously published species distribution model.<ref name="wilting+al2010"/>

In Sumatra, flat-headed cats were recorded by camera traps on the Kampar Peninsula for the first time in 2015; until 2019, a total of 11 records were obtained in this peat swamp forest at an elevation of {{cvt|1-7|m}}, and at most {{cvt|1.2|km}} away from a river or canal.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Powell, C. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Iqbal, M. |year=2022 |title=First records of the flat-headed cat ''Prionailurus planiceps'' on the Kampar Peninsula, Sumatra, Indonesia |journal=Oryx |volume=56 |issue=4 |pages=514–517 |doi=10.1017/S0030605321000132 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In Kalimantan, flat-headed cats were recorded in mixed swamp forest and tall interior forest at elevations below {{cvt|20|m}} in the vicinity of Sabangau National Park.<ref name=Jeffers_al2019>{{cite journal |last1=Jeffers, K. A. |last2=Adul |last3=Cheyne |first3=S. M. |year=2019 |title=Small cat surveys: 10 years of data from Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo |journal=Journal of Threatened Taxa |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=13478–13491 |doi=10.11609/jott.4466.11.4.13478-13491 |doi-access=free}}</ref> In Sarawak, a flat-headed cat was sighted and photographed on the bank of Maludam River in Maludam National Park in 2013. In Ulu Sebuyau National Park, flat-headed cats were recorded less than {{cvt|80|m}} away from Sarawak River.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Mohd-Azlan, J. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Thaqifah, S.J. |year=2020 |title=New records of the Flat-headed Cat ''Prionailurus planiceps'' (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827) (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) in western Sarawak, Malaysia |journal=Journal of Threatened Taxa |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=15238–15243 |doi= 10.11609/jott.5105.12.2.15238-15243 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In Thailand, the flat-headed cat was thought to be extinct, because it had not been seen since 1995, until it was recorded multiple times in 2024 and 2025 during a camera trap survey in Princess Sirindhorn Wildlife Sanctuary in the far south of the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.popsci.com/environment/wild-cat-thailand-returns/|title=Tiny wild cat spotted in Thailand for first time in 30 years |author=Bassi, M. |publisher=Popular Science|date=2025 |access-date=2025-12-26}}</ref>

== Ecology and behavior == thumb|thumbtime=24|A flat-headed cat at night It is difficult to study the cat, which lives in thick vegetation in wet areas. Camera-trap photos are rare.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/mysterious-at-risk-understudied-flat-headed-cat-lacks-conservation-focus/ |title=Mysterious, at risk, understudied flat-headed cat lacks conservation focus |author=Sean Mowbray |work=Mongabay |date=29 May 2024 |access-date=7 June 2024}}</ref> Flat-headed cats recorded in Kalimantan were foremost active by night.<ref name=Jeffers_al2019/> They are presumably solitary, and probably maintain their home ranges by scent marking. In captivity, both females and males spray urine by walking forward in a crouching position, leaving a trail on the ground.<ref>Leyhausen, P. (1979). ''Cat behaviour. The predatory and social behaviour of domestic and wild cats''. Garland STPM Press; New York {{ISBN|0-8240-7017-8}}.</ref> Anecdotal historical accounts report that they are nocturnal, but an adult captive female was crepuscular and most active between 8:00 and 11:30 and between 18:00 and 22:00 hours.<ref name=WCoW/> The stomach contents of an adult shot on a Malaysian riverbank consisted only of fish. They have been observed to wash objects, raccoon-style. Live fish are readily taken, with full submergence of the head, and the fish were usually carried at least {{cvt|2|m}} away, suggesting a feeding strategy to avoid letting aquatic prey escape back into water. Captive specimens show much greater interest in potential prey in the water than on dry land, suggesting a strong preference for riverine hunting in their natural habitat.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Muul, I. |last2=Lim, B. L. |year=1970|title=Ecological and morphological observations of ''Felis planiceps'' |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=51 |issue=4 |pages=806–808 |jstor=1378310 |doi=10.2307/1378310}}</ref> Their morphological specializations suggest that their diet is mostly composed of fish, but they are reported to hunt for frogs, and are thought to catch crustaceans.<ref name=WCoW/> They also catch rats and chickens.<ref name=Nowell1996/>

Vocalizations of a flat-headed cat kitten resembled those of a domestic cat. The vocal repertoire of adults has not been analyzed completely, but they purr and give other short-ranged vocalizations.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Peters, G. |year=1981 |title=Das Schnurren der Katzen |journal=Säugetierkundliche Mitteilungen |issue=29 |pages=30–37}}</ref>

Their gestation period lasts about 56 days. Of three litters recorded in captivity, one consisted of two kittens; the other two were singletons. Two captive individuals have lived for 14 years.<ref name=WCoW/><ref name=Nowell1996/>

== Threats == The flat-headed cat is foremost threatened by destruction of wetlands and lowland forests, and environmental degradation.<ref name=Nowell1996/> This habitat destruction is caused by conversion of natural habitats for settlements, plantations, agriculture and aquaculture, and clearing of mangroves. Overfishing in wetlands and expansion of oil palm plantations are considered to be significant threats.<ref name=iucn/> Incidental trapping is also a threat,<ref name=WCoW/> as some flat-headed cats are reported to have been caught in traps set to protect domestic fowl.<ref name=Nowell1996/> Collision with cars and competition with domestic cats could pose serious threats as well.<ref name="wadey+al2014"/>

== Conservation == The flat-headed cat is included on CITES Appendix I. It is fully protected by national legislations in all range countries, with hunting and trade prohibited in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.<ref name=iucn/>

=== In captivity === Songkhla Zoo kept three flat-headed cats as of 2017, which were all born in this zoo in 2009 by captive parents.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Danaisawadi, P. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Piriyarom, S. |author3=Krasaeden, W. |author4=Pramkasem, S. |author5=Rurkkhum, S. |author6=Yimprasert, S. |year=2023 |title=Time budget and activity patterns during the mating period of Flat-headed Cat ''Prionailurus planiceps'' in captivity |journal=Tropical Natural History |volume=Supplement 7 |issue=7 |pages=221–228 |doi=10.58837/tnh.23.7.258833 |url=https://li01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/tnh/article/download/258833/176245|doi-access=free }}</ref>

== See also == * Sunda Islands

== References == {{Reflist|35em}}

== External links == {{Commons category|Prionailurus planiceps}} {{Wikispecies|Prionailurus planiceps}} *{{cite web |url=http://www.catsg.org/index.php?id=119 |website=IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group |title=Flat-headed Cat |access-date=2014-12-16 |archive-date=2018-06-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621015644/http://www.catsg.org/index.php?id=119 }}

{{Carnivora|Fe.}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q274177}}

Category:Prionailurus Category:Mammals described in 1827 Category:Carnivorans of Malaysia Category:Mammals of Indonesia Category:Mammals of Thailand Category:Fauna of Sumatra Category:Carnivorans of Borneo Category:Articles containing video clips Category:Species that are or were threatened by oil palm plantations Category:Species that are or were threatened by habitat loss Category:Taxa named by Nicholas Aylward Vigors