Prionailurus planiceps

– Vulnerable

Taxonomy

Kingdom:

ANIMALIA

Phylum:

CHORDATA

Class:

MAMMALIA

Order:

CARNIVORA

Family:

FELIDAE

Scientific Name:

Prionailurus planiceps

Species Authority:

(Vigors & Horsfield , 1827)

Common Name/s:

English	—	FLAT-HEADED CAT
French	—	CHAT À TÊTE PLATE
Spanish	—	GATO CABECIANCHO

Assessment Information

Red List Category & Criteria:

VU C2a(i) ver 3.1 (2001)

Year Assessed:

2002

Assessor/s:

Cat Specialist Group

Evaluator/s:

Nowell, K., Breitenmoser, U. & Jackson, P. (Cat Red List Authority)

Justification:

Based on estimates of geographic range and average densities of other small cats (Nowell and Jackson 1996), the flat-headed cat’s total effective population size is estimated at below 10,000 mature breeding individuals, with a declining trend due to habitat and prey base loss and persecution, and no subpopulation containing more than 1,000 mature breeding individuals.

History:

1986	-	Indeterminate as Felis planiceps (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1986)
1988	-	Indeterminate as Felis planiceps (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1988)
1990	-	Indeterminate as Felis planiceps (IUCN 1990)
1994	-	Insufficiently Known (Groombridge 1994)
1996	-	Vulnerable (Baillie and Groombridge 1996)

Geographic Range

Range Description:

Restricted to southeast Asia.

Countries:

Native:

Brunei Darussalam; Indonesia (Kalimantan, Sumatera); Malaysia; Myanmar; Thailand

Introduced:

Singapore

Population

Population:	The flat-headed cat is seldom encountered and is believed to be rare (Nowell and Jackson 1996).
Population Trend:

Habitat and Ecology

Habitat and Ecology:	Most collection records for the flat-headed cat are from swampy areas, oxbow lakes and riverine forest. No research has been done on the species in the wild (Nowell and Jackson 1996). It may be less specialized than presently believed in its habitat requirements, as indicated by sightings in oil palm plantations in Malaysia, where it apparently hunts rodents (Nowell and Jackson 1996).
System:	Terrestrial; Freshwater

Threats

Threats:

Water pollution, especially by oil, organochlorines and heavy metals associated with agricultural run-off and logging activities, poses a serious threat to the flat-headed cat through contamination of its prey (Nowell and Jackson 1996). The clearance of waterways as human settlement expands into forested areas is also a problem (Nowell and Jackson 1996).

Conservation Actions

Conservation Actions:

Included on CITES Appendix I. The species is fully protected by national legislation over most of its range, with hunting and trade prohibited in Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand, and hunting regulated in Singapore (Nowell and Jackson 1996).

Citation:	Cat Specialist Group 2002. Prionailurus planiceps. In: IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 28 August 2008.
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