serval - Heraldry and literature

A nocturnal member of the cat family (Felis serval), native to S Africa; slender, with long neck and short tail; pale with small or large dark spots (small-spotted type formerly called servaline cat); occasionally black; solitary; inhabits savannah near streams; eats rodents, birds, and small antelopes.

?Serval Conservation status: Least concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Felidae Genus: Leptailurus Species: L. serval
Binomial name
Leptailurus serval (Schreber, 1776)

The Serval (Leptailurus serval) is a medium-sized African wild cat: length 85 cm, plus 40 cm tail.

Subspecies

Leptailurus serval serval, Cape Province Leptailurus serval beirae, Mozambique Leptailurus serval brachyura, West Africa, Sahel, Ethiopia Leptailurus serval constantina, Algeria (endangered) Leptailurus serval hamiltoni, eastern Transvaal Leptailurus serval hindeio, Tanzania Leptailurus serval ingridi, Namibia, southern Botswana, Zimbabwe Leptailurus serval kempi, Uganda Leptailurus serval kivuensis, Congo Leptailurus serval liposticta, northern Angola Leptailurus serval lonnbergi, southern Angola Leptailurus serval mababiensis, northern Botswana Leptailurus serval robertsi, western Transvaal Leptailurus serval togoensis, Togo, Benin

Heraldry and literature

The serval (Italian gattopardo) was the symbol of the Tomasi family, princes of Lampedusa, whose best-known member was Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, author one of the most famous Italian novels of the twentieth century, Il Gattopardo.