Iriomote Cat

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The Irimote Cat (Felis iriomotensis) is a small wild feline indigenous to the Japanese island of Irimote, in the Yaeyama archipelago, itself the southern-most extension of the Ryukyu island chain.

The species is critically endangered, with only around 100 living examples, and is a "living fossil", a unique very early form of the Felidae family that is otherwise extinct. The Irimote Cat is believed to have first settled on Irimote when the island was still connected to mainland China, and survived into modern times due to to it's geographical isolation.[1]