The caracal /ˈkærəkæl/ (Caracal caracal), also known as the desert lynx, is a wild cat that is widely distributed across Africa, central Asia and southwest Asia into India. In 2002 the IUCN listed the caracal as Least Concern as it is widespread and relatively common. The felid is considered threatened in north Africa, and rare in the central Asian republics and India.The German naturalist Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber first described Felis caracal in 1776 from a specimen collected from Table Mountain, South Africa, which is considered the type locality of the species.The generic name Caracal was first used by the British naturalist John Edward Gray in 1843 on the basis of a type specimen collected near the Cape of Good Hope.The word caracal is derived from the Turkish words "kara kulak", which means "black ear". The caracal has been classified variously with Lynx and Felis in the past, but molecular evidence supports a monophyletic genus that is closely allied with the African golden cat and serval.
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