Lynx
17479
224704345
2008-07-10T01:18:22Z
139.76.64.67
/* Legal status */
{{otheruses}}
{{Taxobox
| name = ''Lynx''<ref name=msw3>{{MSW3 Wozencraft | pages = 541-542}}</ref>
| image = lynx-canadensis.jpg
| image_caption = [[Canadian Lynx]]
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[mammal|Mammalia]]
| ordo = [[Carnivora]]
| familia = [[Felidae]]
| subfamilia = [[Felinae]]
| genus = '''''Lynx'''''
| genus_authority = [[Robert Kerr (writer)|Kerr]], 1792
| type_species = [[Eurasian Lynx|''Felis lynx'']]
| type_species_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758
| subdivision_ranks = [[Species]]
| subdivision = ''[[Lynx lynx]]''<br />''[[Lynx canadensis]]''<br />''[[Lynx pardinus]]''<br />''[[Lynx rufus]]''
| range_map = Lynx range.png
| range_map_caption = The overall range of ''Lynx'' species.
}}
A '''lynx''' is any of four medium-sized wild [[Felidae|cats]]. All are members of the [[genus]] ''Lynx'', but there is considerable confusion about the best way to classify felids at present, and some authorities classify them as part of the genus ''[[Felis]]''. The [[Caracal]], despite sometimes being called Persian Lynx or African Lynx, does not belong to this genus.
==Species==
The four species placed in this genus are:
* [[Canadian Lynx]] (''Lynx canadensis'')
* [[Eurasian Lynx]] (''Lynx lynx'')
* [[Iberian Lynx]] (''Lynx pardinus'')
* [[Bobcat]] (''Lynx rufus'')
==Appearance==
[[Image:Canadian Lynx.jpg|thumb|left|A Canadian Lynx from the Philadelphia Zoo with distinct lynx tip and ruff with black bars.]]
Lynx have short tails and characteristic tufts of black hair on the tip of the ears. They have a ruff under the neck, which has black bars (not very visible), resembling a bow tie. They have large paws padded for walking on snow and long whiskers on the face. The body color varies from light brown to grey; and occasionally, is marked with dark brown spots, especially on the limbs.
==Behavior==
[[Image:Lynx_kitten.jpg|thumb|right|Lynx kitten]]
Lynx are usually solitary, although a small group of lynx may travel and hunt together. Mating takes place in the late winter and they give birth to 2 to 4 kittens once a year. The young stay with the mother for one more winter; and then, the young adults can live on their own. Lynx will have their dens in crevices or under ledges. They feed on a wide range of animals from [[Reindeer]], [[Roe Deer]], small [[Red Deer]], and [[Chamois]], to smaller, more usual prey: birds, and small mammals, like snowshoe hares, fish, sheep, and goats.
==Legal status==
The hunting of lynxes is illegal in many countries. The Iberian Lynx is critically endangered with extinction and the killing of any individuals has been outlawed since the 1970s in Spain and Portugal<ref name = ward>{{cite web | work = Dan Ward | url = http://www.lcie.org/Docs/Iberian%20lynx/Ward%20REP%20The%20Iberian%20lynx%20emergency.pdf | title = The Iberian Lynx Emergency | | accessdate = 2007-05-13 | date = [[2004]]}}</ref>. In 2000, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service designated the Canadian Lynx a [[Threatened_species#United_States|Threatened species]] in the lower 48 states.<ref name="FedReg>http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/federal_register/fr3552.pdf 65 Federal Register 16051 16086</ref>
==See also==
*[[Lynx (mythology)]]
*[[Wildcat]], a small predator native to Europe, the western part of Asia, and Africa
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
{{Commonscat|Lynx}}
{{wikispecies|Lynx}}
*[http://www.soslynx.org/ SOS Lynx: photos, news and information about the Iberian Lynx in English and Portuguese]
*[http://www.sinapu.org/Pages/Lynx/Lynx.htm Canada Lynx in the Southern Rockies]
*[http://www.iberianature.com/material/iberianlynx.htm The Iberian Lynx] The natural history of the Iberian lynx
*[http://www.nature.org/animals/mammals/animals/lynx.html The Nature Conservatory's Species Profile: Lynx]
*[http://mountain-prairie.fws.gov/species/mammals/lynx/ Canada lynx (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service]
{{Felidae nav}}
[[Category:Felines]]
[[Category:Mammals of Canada]]
[[Category:Mammals of Europe]]
[[Category:Fauna of Russia]]
[[Category:Fauna of Turkey]]
[[Category:Mammals of the United States]]
[[ang:Lox (catte)]]
[[ca:Linx]]
[[cs:Rys (zoologie)]]
[[da:Los]]
[[de:Luchse]]
[[et:Ilves (perekond)]]
[[es:Lince]]
[[fa:سیاهگوش]]
[[fr:Lynx (mammifère)]]
[[hr:Risovi]]
[[hu:Hiúz]]
[[io:Linco]]
[[it:Lynx (animale)]]
[[he:שונר]]
[[la:Lynx]]
[[nl:Lynxen]]
[[no:Ekte_gauper]]
[[ja:オオヤマネコ]]
[[pl:Lynx (rodzaj)]]
[[pt:Lince]]
[[ro:Râs (animal)]]
[[ru:Рыси]]
[[simple:Lynx]]
[[sr:Рис]]
[[sv:Lodjur]]
[[tr:Vaşak]]
[[zh:猞猁屬]]