The African Wilcat (Felis silvestris lybica), also known as the Desert Cat, is a subspecies of the Wildcat (F. silvestris). They appear to have diverged from the other subspecies about 131,000 years ago. Some individual F. s. lybica were first domesticated about 10,000 years ago in the Middle East, and are the ancestors of the Domestic Cat. Remains of domesticated cats have been included in human burials as far back as 9,500 years ago in Cyprus.