Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index Margay Margay in Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica Scientific Classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Felidae Genus: Leopardus Species: wiedii Binomial name Leopardus wiedii The Margay (Leopardus wiedii, or Felis wiedii) is a spotted cat native to Central and South America. It is a solitary nocturnal animal that prefers remote sections of the rainforest. Because of its seclusive nature the Margay population is undetermined; however it is thought to be an endangered cat. It roams the rainforests from Mexico to Argentina. The margay is very similar to the ocelot. The head is a bit shorter, the tail is longer, and the spotted pattern on the tail is different. Most notably the margay is a much more skilful climber than its relative. It is the only cat with the ankle flexibility necessary to climb head first down trees. Subspecies Leopardus wiedii wiedii, eastern and central Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, northern Argentina Leopardus wiedii amazonica, western Brazil, inner parts of Peru, Colombia and Venezuela Leopardus wiedii boliviae, Bolivia Leopardus wiedii cooperi, northern Mexico Leopardus wiedii glaucula, central Mexico Leopardus wiedii nicaraguae, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica Leopardus wiedii oaxacae, southern Mexico Leopardus wiedii pirrensis, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru Leopardus wiedii salvinia, Chiapas, Guatemala, El Salvador Leopardus wiedii yucatanica, Yucatan This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.