Present Day Research
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120711141010.htm
Dr Manabu Sakamoto and Dr Marcello Ruta have been studying the skulls of sabre-toothed cats, modern cats, and basal cats. They studied how the skull shape had changed throughout time as cats evolved. They saw a distinct separation from big cats like tigers and lion and smaller ones like ocelots and domestic cats. The skull shape determined that bigger and smaller cats had taken different evolutionary paths in terms of skull shape. This was the first time anyone had ever compared the specimens together and it has given the cat family tree more information in supporting evolution. It showed that skull shape was very important to how different types of cats evolved.
http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=8509
In a recent study by UC Davis, researchers focused on tracing the path of the modern cat and its ancient path to the Americas, measuring changes and losses of genetic diversity as cats migrated to different parts of the world and evolved. They collected more than 11,000 samples from cats' cheeks from all over the world to represent the diversity. What they found in the DNA was that cats were genetically grouped based on 4 regions of the world: Asia, Europe, East Africa, and the Mediterranean. Microsatellite markers were used to determine the genetic grouping of the cat as well as their origins. This study also saw that cats who were randomly bred in the US were similar to ones in Europe. They concluded from that that cats in America did not have enough time to evolve significantly from when they moved from Europe. This helped researchers understand the domestication of cats.
Dr Manabu Sakamoto and Dr Marcello Ruta have been studying the skulls of sabre-toothed cats, modern cats, and basal cats. They studied how the skull shape had changed throughout time as cats evolved. They saw a distinct separation from big cats like tigers and lion and smaller ones like ocelots and domestic cats. The skull shape determined that bigger and smaller cats had taken different evolutionary paths in terms of skull shape. This was the first time anyone had ever compared the specimens together and it has given the cat family tree more information in supporting evolution. It showed that skull shape was very important to how different types of cats evolved.
http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=8509
In a recent study by UC Davis, researchers focused on tracing the path of the modern cat and its ancient path to the Americas, measuring changes and losses of genetic diversity as cats migrated to different parts of the world and evolved. They collected more than 11,000 samples from cats' cheeks from all over the world to represent the diversity. What they found in the DNA was that cats were genetically grouped based on 4 regions of the world: Asia, Europe, East Africa, and the Mediterranean. Microsatellite markers were used to determine the genetic grouping of the cat as well as their origins. This study also saw that cats who were randomly bred in the US were similar to ones in Europe. They concluded from that that cats in America did not have enough time to evolve significantly from when they moved from Europe. This helped researchers understand the domestication of cats.