Cat Family Tree

New research now shows that through the ages, some restless cats jumped from continent to continent while managing to keep their lineage intact. In a recent study, a team led by geneticists Stephen O’Brien and Warren Johnson of the National Cancer Institute in Frederick, Maryland, showed evidence that the 37 modern species of cats all evolved from a single ancestor in Asia some 10.8 million years ago. The geneticists compared DNA from the 37 species and concluded that not only are all the great roaring cats related, but even the domestic tabby has a leaf on this family tree.