Catopuma badia
The bay cat (Catopuma badia) is a small wild cat found only on Borneo, with a rusty-red or grey coat, and one of the world's least known cats.
PANDUANHEWAN · INDONESIA
Bay cat vs Marbled cat: the differences
How do the Bay cat (Catopuma badia) and Marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata) differ? Classification, features, range, diet, size, IUCN status and legal protection, from cited sources.
The bay cat (Catopuma badia) and the marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata) share the family Felidae but belong to different genera: Catopuma and Pardofelis. Range in Indonesia — the bay cat: Kalimantan (endemic to Borneo); the marbled cat: Sumatra and Borneo (Kalimantan).
Pardofelis marmorata
The marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata) is a small, marble-patterned wild cat with a very long, bushy tail, living in the forests of Sumatra and Borneo.
Bay cat and Marbled cat compared
| Aspect | Bay cat | Marbled cat |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Catopuma badia | Pardofelis marmorata |
| Indonesian name | Kucing merah | Kucing batu |
| Class | Mammalia | Mammalia |
| Order | Carnivora | Carnivora |
| Family | Felidae | Felidae |
| Range in Indonesia | Kalimantan (endemic to Borneo) | Sumatra and Borneo (Kalimantan) |
| Endemic to Indonesia | No | No |
| Key features | Rusty-red or grey coat, rounded ears, long tail | Marbled coat, bushy tail almost as long as body |
| Size | About 3–4 kg (estimate) | — |
| Diet | Unstudied; rodents and treeshrews recorded | Probably birds, squirrels, fruit bats and rats |
| Diet type | carnivore (meat-eater) | carnivore (meat-eater) |
| Reproduction | giving birth to live young (viviparous) | giving birth to live young (viviparous) |
| IUCN status | Endangered | Near Threatened |
| Legal protection | Protected (Regulation P.106/2018) | Protected (Regulation P.106/2018) |
Every cell comes from the sourced data on each animal’s page; an empty cell means the data is not yet available, not that it is absent.
How to tell them apart
- Bay cat: Rusty-red or grey coat, rounded ears, long tail.
- Marbled cat: Marbled coat, bushy tail almost as long as body.
Sources
- Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Suppl. 33 — Hearn et al. (2016), Predicted distribution of the bay cat Catopuma badia (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) on Borneo (PDF via HOSCAP Borneo) ↗
- Mongabay Indonesia (2026) — Kucing Merah Kalimantan Kembali Terekam Kamera, Bawa Mangsa di Kayan Mentarang ↗
- Mongabay Indonesia (2023) — Kucing Merah, Antara Ada dan Tiada di Hutan Kalimantan ↗
- Mongabay Indonesia (2017) — Kucing Merah Itu Terekam Kamera di Hutan Kalimantan Tengah ↗
- JDIH Kementerian Kehutanan — Permen LHK P.106/MENLHK/SETJEN/KUM.1/12/2018 tentang Jenis Tumbuhan dan Satwa yang Dilindungi (PDF, dengan lampiran) ↗
- Animal Diversity Web ↗
- GBIF Backbone Taxonomy (GBIF) ↗
- IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group — Marbled cat ↗
- Animal Diversity Web (University of Michigan) — Pardofelis marmorata, marbled cat ↗
- PLOS One (Hearn et al. 2016) — The first estimates of marbled cat Pardofelis marmorata population density from Bornean primary and selectively logged forest ↗
- Spatio-temporal ecology of sympatric felids on Borneo. Evidence for resource partitioning? (Hearn et al. 2018, PLoS ONE) ↗
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