a local hunter for a festival celebrated by the indigenous Apatani community in March and April every year. The dead cat was used in a ceremony, and its blood was sacrificed to the deity for goodwill of their family and for ensuring a good harvest, protection from wildlife, disease and pest. Deforestation is a further threat to the marbled cat. Conservation Pardofelis marmorata is included in CITES Appendix I and protected over parts of its range. Hunting is prohibited in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Yunnan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, and Thailand. Hunting is regulated in Laos and Singapore. In Bhutan and Brunei, the marbled cat is not legally protected outside protected areas. No information about protection status is available from Cambodia and Vietnam. Taxonomy Felis marmorata was the scientific name proposed by William Charles Linnaeus Martin in 1836 for a skin of a male marbled cat from Java or Sumatra. Felis longicaudata proposed by Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville in 1843 was a zoological specimen from India or Cochinchina. Felis charltoni proposed by John Edward Gray in 1846 was a specimen from Darjeeling. The generic name Pardofelis was proposed by Nikolai Severtzov in 1858. At present, two subspecies are recognized as valid: P. marmorata marmorata (Martin, 1836) – from the Malay Peninsula to Sumatra and Borneo P. marmorata longicaudata (Blainville, 1843) – from Nepal to north of the Isthmus of Kra Phylogeny The marbled cat was once considered to belong to the pantherine lineage of cats. But results of a phylogenetic analysis indicate that it forms an evolutionary lineage with the Asian golden cat (Catopuma temminckii) and the bay cat (C. badia) that genetically diverged about . The marbled cat diverged from this lineage about . References External links Felines Mammals of Bhutan Mammals of Indonesia Mammals of Thailand Mammals of Cambodia Mammals of Vietnam Mammals of Laos Fauna of Yunnan Carnivorans of Malaysia Fauna of Eastern Himalaya Fauna of Southeast Asia Mammals described in 1837 Taxa named by William Charles Linnaeus Martin