Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41299225›Full record

ArticleBMC ecology and evolution2025

Unghosting the Sardinian wildcat: morphological and molecular characterization of a vanishing felid.

Roberta Lecis, Federica Mattucci, Andrea Sforzi, Ludovica DiBella, Marco Muzzeddu, Marco Apollonio, Romolo Caniglia, Massimo Scandura

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC ecology and evolution, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Roberta Lecis *Dipartimento Medicina Veterinaria, Università di Sassari, Via Vienna 2, Sassari, 07100, Italy. rlecis@uniss.it.
Federica Mattucci *Area Genetica della Conservazione BIO-CGE ISPRA Via Cà Fornacetta, Ozzano dell'Emilia (BO), Italy.
Andrea SforziMuseo di Storia Naturale della Maremma, Grosseto, Italy.
Ludovica DiBellaDipartimento Medicina Veterinaria, Università di Sassari, Via Vienna 2, Sassari, 07100, Italy.
Marco MuzzedduCentro Recupero Fauna Selvatica - Agenzia FORESTAS, Bonassai, Sassari, Italy.
Marco ApollonioDipartimento Medicina Veterinaria, Università di Sassari, Via Vienna 2, Sassari, 07100, Italy.
Romolo Caniglia *Area Genetica della Conservazione BIO-CGE ISPRA Via Cà Fornacetta, Ozzano dell'Emilia (BO), Italy.
Massimo Scandura *Dipartimento Medicina Veterinaria, Università di Sassari, Via Vienna 2, Sassari, 07100, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The Sardinian wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica) belongs to a felid North-African lineage that reached the Mediterranean island in Neolithic times. While numerous studies have been conducted on the European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris), very little is known about the Sardinian wildcat ecology, genetics, and conservation status. Therefore, it is paramount to investigate the current distribution and genetics of the Sardinian population of F. s. lybica, previously described as var. sarda. In this work we assessed morphological and molecular traits of Sardinian wildcats, ascertained areas of species presence on the island, and investigated possible occurrence of hybridization with domestic cats. An integrated approach was adopted, involving questionnaire distribution and interviews to local people, and the morphological evaluation of road-killed individuals combined with their genetic typing using 29 polymorphic autosomal microsatellite loci. Genotypes were then analyzed by Bayesian clustering and assignment analyses. Questionnaires and interviews allowed us to build a preliminary alleged distribution map of the species and select candidate areas for non-invasive monitoring. The morphological and genetic characterization of road kills and museum specimens allowed us to identify pure individuals and recent wild × domestic hybrids, paving the way for better characterizing the Sardinian wildcat. Further steps of the research will allow us to shed light on this elusive presence on the island and enhance its conservation.

Indexed as

FelidaeAnimalsBayes TheoremConservation of Natural ResourcesFemaleGenotypeHybridization, GeneticItalyMaleMicrosatellite RepeatsCitizen scienceFelis silvestris lybicaGeneticsMorphologySardiniaWildcat

Identifiers

PMID41299225
PMCPMC12781709

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.