You are about to be boarded by Adorableness, so I’ll just briefly mention the geology in passing: these little cats are living atop ancient microcontinents and island arcs.

Sure doesn’t look like it today, does it? But we’ll follow the outlines of that story in the cat-evolution series, once we exit the Precambrian and start looking at Asia — where cats presumably evolved. (Werdelin et al.)

Featured image: Josh Moore, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Werdelin, L., Yamaguchi, N., Johnson, W. E., & O’Brien, S. J. 201). Phylogeny and evolution of cats (Felidae), The Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids (Vol. 2) Macdonald, D., & Loveridge, A., Oxford University Press., 59-82.