which member of the cat family is largest in terms of length & weight
tiger
title: Cat text: 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. title: Cat text: foraging for food and sometimes intermittently fed by people, but are typically wary of human interaction. Domestic cats are similar in size to the other members of the genus "Felis", typically weighing between . Some breeds, such as the Maine Coon, can occasionally exceed . Conversely, very small cats, less than , have been reported. The world record for the largest cat is . The smallest adult cat ever officially recorded weighed around . Feral cats tend to be lighter, as they have more limited access to food than house cats. The Boston Cat Hospital weighed trapped feral cats, and title: Big cat text: Exceptionally heavy male lions and tigers have been recorded to exceed in the wilderness, and weigh around in captivity. The liger can grow to be much larger than its parent species, the lion and tiger. In particular, a liger called 'Nook' is reported to have weighed over . Big cat The term "big cat" is typically used to refer to any of the five living members of the genus "Panthera", namely tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard. Except the snow leopard, these species are able to roar. A more liberal and expansive definition of the term includes species outside title: Cougar text: and claws are adaptations to clutching prey. Cougars are slender and agile members of the Cat Family. They are the fourth-largest cat species worldwide; adults stand about tall at the shoulders. Adult males are around long from nose to tail tip, and females average , with overall ranges between nose to tail suggested for the species in general. Of this length, the tail typically accounts for . Males generally weigh , averaging . Females typically weigh between , averaging . Cougar size is smallest close to the equator and larger towards the poles. The largest recorded cougar, shot in 1901, title: Big cat text: comprises mostly small to medium-sized cats, including the domestic cats, but also some larger cats such as the cougar and cheetah. A 2010 study published in "Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution" has given insight into the exact evolutionary relationships of the big cats. The study reveals that the snow leopard and the tiger are sister species, while the lion, leopard, and jaguar are more closely related to each other. The tiger and snow leopard diverged from the ancestral big cats approximately 3.9 Ma. The tiger then evolved into a unique species towards the end of the Pliocene epoch, approximately 3.2 Ma.