〈談文論譯〉石虎 leopard cat 蘇正隆
上星期台鐵集集支線列車的石虎圖像吵得沸沸揚揚，最後出現台、俄合作大結局！從正面看，這起事件也增加台灣社會大眾對石虎的認識。英文老師和生物老師也可利用這個機會來教 CLIL/content-area English。
碰巧我們9月2日在國家教育研究院雙語詞彙審議會也審到石虎的英譯，確認 leopard cat為石虎 (Prionailurus bengalensis) 的英譯。
石虎 (Prionailurus bengalensis)，中國大陸稱「豹貓」，是亞洲小型貓科動物中分布最廣泛的物種，從俄國、中國、印度、巴基斯坦、印尼、菲律賓，到香港都有。「國際自然保護聯盟」(UCN)，將石虎歸類為「無危」(least concern)，但在台灣，學者推估石虎數量只剩500隻上下，已落入最小可存活族群量 (minimum viable population size)，隨時可能陷入滅絕。以下節自 Wikipedia:
The leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) is a small wild cat native to continental South, Southeast and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is widely distributed although threatened by habitat loss and hunting in parts of its range.
Historically, the leopard cat of continental Asia was considered the same species as the Sunda leopard cat. As of 2017, the latter is recognised as a distinct species, with the taxonomic name Prionailurus javanensis.
Leopard cat subspecies differ widely in fur colour, tail length, skull shape and size of carnassials (肉食動物的割截齒). Archaeological evidence indicates that the leopard cat was the first cat species domesticated in Neolithic China about 5,000 years ago in Shaanxi and Henan Provinces.
石虎/豹貓屬 (Prionailurus) 是貓科 (Felidae) 底下的一屬，石虎/豹貓屬的特徵之一是鼻子眼睛之間兩邊各有一道白線。其中爪哇豹貓 (Sunda leopard cat) 曾一度和石虎混為一談，但後來認為是不同的種。The Sunda leopard cat (Prionailurus javanensis) is a small wild cat species native to the Sundaland islands of Java, Bali, Borneo, Sumatra and the Philippines that is considered distinct from the leopard cat occurring in mainland South and Southeast Asia.
動物學家 Pocock 根據皮毛及顱骨作為分類的基礎 (on the basis of skins and skulls)，他把該屬分為五個種：石虎 Prionailurus bengalensis (leopard cat); 爪哇豹貓 Prionailurus javanensis (Sunda leopard cat); 扁頭豹貓 Prionailurus planiceps (flat-headed cat); 漁豹貓 Prionailurus viverrinus (fishing cat); 鏽斑豹貓 Prionailurus rubiginosus (rusty-spotted cat)。(Jerome Su, Sept 4, 19)
圖 1 Katya Molodtsova;
圖 2 Soumyajit Nandy;
Leopard Cat in Sundarban, W Bengal, India by Soumyajit Nandy
圖 3 Sunda leopard cat 取自Wikipedia
The Sunda leopard cat (Prionailurus javanensis)