Felis iriomotensis(P.b.iriomotensis

The body length is 50-60 cm, the tail length is 23-24 cm, and the weight is 3-5 kg. The body shape retains primitive characteristics, slightly fatter than ordinary cats, with a very long trunk and thick and short limbs. The back and sides of the body are dark brown, the abdomen is lighter, and there are inconspicuous dark spots scattered on the gray-brown part of the sides. The paw is larger than that of ordinary cats, and the tail is also very thick, with some tufts of hair at the tip, making it look thicker in appearance. The nose bridge is very large, and there are white and black stripes around the eyes. The ears are very round, and there is no premolar hair in the ear shell at the tip. The back of the ear has a black edge and white stripes called "tiger ear book spots" like many mountain cats. There are 28 teeth, one pair less upper jaw premolars than ordinary cats.

It is only distributed in Iriomote Island in the Yaeyama Islands of the Ryukyu Islands, and is easier to find in mountain wetlands and rivers.

The Iriomote cat, scientific name Felis iriomotensis (P.b.iriomotensis), is a subspecies endemic to Okinawa, Japan. In the local dialect, the Iriomote cat is called "Yamamaya" (cat in the mountains), "Pingumaaya" (cat that escaped) and "Yamapicalaya", which shows that the Iriomote cat is not a wild cat that has evolved from a domestic cat to a wild cat.

In March 1965, after Okinawa returned to the jurisdiction of the Japanese government, animal writer Yukio Togawa collected skull and fur specimens of the Iriomote cat and conducted related research. In 1967, wild individuals (one male and one female cat) were captured. In 1967, Yoshinori Imaizumi, director of the National Museum of Nature and Science, named the Iriomote cat as a new species and published it at a conference. At that time, the last discovery of a new species of wild cat was 70 years ago, so this was regarded as the greatest discovery in biology in the 20th century. The area of Iriomote Island is only about 290 square kilometers, which is also the smallest island in the world where cats exist.

The Iriomote cat is a nocturnal animal. Except for the breeding season, it will act in pairs, and usually lives alone. It mainly lives in low-altitude areas along the coast, and likes wetlands and riverbanks. It usually lives on the ground, but can climb trees and swim.