Description Iberian lynx, Lynx pardinus
Date 16 July 2007
Source http://www.lynxexsitu.es/ficheros/galerias_fotos/16/linces19.jpg
Author (c)"Programa de Conservación Ex-situ del Lince Ibérico www.lynxexsitu.es"
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Linces19.jpg

The Iberian lynx or Spanish lynx (Lynx pardinus) is a wild cat species native to the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe that is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. It preys almost exclusively on the European rabbit. In the 20th century, the Iberian lynx population declined because of sharp declines in rabbit populations, caused by myxomatosis, rabbit haemorrhagic disease and overhunting, fragmentation of grassland and forest habitats and poaching. Formerly considered a subspecies of the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), the Iberian lynx is now classified as a separate species. Both species occurred together in Central Europe in the Pleistocene and evolved as distinct species in the Late Pleistocene. The Iberian lynx is thought to have evolved from Lynx issiodorensis. Order: Carnivora, Family: Felidae, Subfamily: Felinae, Species: Lynx pardinus (Temminck, 1827), Synonyms: Felis pardina Temminck, 1827.