Most felids have a haploid number of 18 or 19. New World cats (those in Central and South America) have a haploid number
of 18, possibly due to the combination of two smaller chromosomes into one larger chromosome. Prior to this discovery,
biologists had been largely unable to establish a family tree of cats from the fossil record because the fossils of
different cat species all look very much alike, differing primarily in size.
The felids' closest relatives are thought to be the linsangs, and at one remove the group of civets, hyenas,
mongooses, and Madagascar carnivores[6], with whom they share the Suborder Feliformia. All felid species share
a genetic anomaly that prevents them from tasting sweetness.
~wiki~
