The sand cat (Felis margarita ), also known as the sand dune cat, is the only cat living chiefly in true deserts. This small cat is widely distributed in the deserts of NorthAfrica, the Middle East and Central Asia. Starting in 2002, it was listed as near threatened on the IUCN Red List because the population was considered fragmented and small with a declining trend. It was downlisted to least concern in 2016.Owing to long hairs covering the soles of its feet, the sand cat is well adapted to the extremes of a desert environment and tolerant of extremely hot and cold temperatures. It inhabits both sandy and stony deserts, in areas far from water sources.
Taxonomy
Felis margarita was the scientific name proposed by Victor Loche in 1858 who first described a sand cat specimen found in the area of "Négonça" in the northern Algerian Sahara. This holotype specimen appears to have been lost.
In the 20th century, the following zoological specimens of sand cats were described:
Eremaelurus thinobius was proposed as a species by Sergej Ognew in 1926. This specimen had been collected in the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan. In 1938, the British zoologist Reginald Innes Pocock also considered it a species, but subordinated it to the genus Felis using the scientific name Felis thinobius.
