「セルカーク・レックス」は、ウィーン獣医大学（University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna）が昨年発表した論文で、新しい品種として認められた猫だ。
そのふわふわとした外見から「プードルキャット」という呼び名でも知られる。さらに、3層にもなる厚い被毛を持つことから、「羊の皮を着た猫」と呼ばれることもある。
猫の国際的な血統登録機関であるInternational Cat Association（TICA）によれば、セルカーク・レックスの起源は、1987年に米モンタナ州のあるブリーダーが、5匹のきょうだい猫の中に、1匹だけ巻き毛の子猫がいることに気付いたことだ。
ペルシャ猫のブリーダーであるジェリ・ニューマン氏は、この巻き毛の猫を雄のペルシャ猫と交配させて、新しい品種を作成することにした。そして、できた品種を、義父の名をとって「セルカーク」と命名した。米国のテレビ局「Discovery」の番組によれば、人名に由来する猫の品種はこれが初めてだという。
ウィーン獣医大学による研究論文では、この品種が自然に生じた遺伝子突然変異から生まれたもので、「巻き毛」が優性になっているとされている。巻き毛を特徴とするほかの品種には、「デボン・レックス（動画はこちら）」や「コーニッシュ・レックス（動画はこちら）」があるが、これらの品種では、巻き毛が劣性となっている。さらに、セルカーク・レックスでは、被毛が3層になっていて厚いことも特徴だ。
「Mother Nature Network」の記事によれば、ウィーン獣医大学によってセルカーク・レックスが既存の品種とは異なる遺伝子を持つことが確認されたのは昨年のことだが、TICAやAmerican Cat Fanciers Association（米国愛猫協会）、Cat Fanciers' Association（CFA）では、以前から猫の品種として認められていた。
[Sara Gates (English) 日本語版：兵藤説子、合原弘子／ガリレオ]
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This lazy monkey hitches a ride to the top of a tree -- by sitting on the back of a parrot. The squirrel monkey, which lives with a male and female parrot at a hotel in Colombia, was photographed by Alejandro Jaramillo after it hopped onto the macaw. These kinds of bizarre inter-species friendship aren\'t unheard of, but they aren\'t common. (credit:Alejandro Jaramillo, Solent News / Rex / Rex USA)
Guru, The Hairless Chimp(78 of90)
Looking almost like a bronze statue of a person, Guru the hairless chimpanzee eats in his enclosure at India\'s Mysore Zoo. Guru lost all his hair to alopecia, a condition that can also affect humans. (credit:Barcroft / Fame Pictures)
Kangaroo's Human Lifestyle (79 of90)
Beemer the kangaroo has Vegemite on toast with a side salad of fresh-picked wild grasses, accompanied by adoptive \"mother\" Julianne \"Julz\" Bradley. (credit:Newspix / Rex / Rex USA)
Piggyback Monkey(80 of90)
Miwa, a baby monkey, rides a young boar named Uribo in the Fukuchiyama City Zoo, in Kyoto, Japan, on Oct. 19. Both have been sheltered by the zoo since June after losing their mothers (credit:Kazuhiro Nogi, AFP / Getty Images)
Pink Kitty(81 of90)
This kitty isn\'t naturally pink. The cat\'s owner, Natasha Gregory of Britain told The Sun that she wanted her pet \"to match my hair.\" The 22-year-old also has a shocking dye job. (credit:Solent News / Rex USA)
Yoga Bear(82 of90)
There\'s Yogi Bear, and there\'s yoga bear. Meet Santra, a female brown bear at the Ahtari Zoo in Finland, famous for her morning yoga stretches. After the bear woke up from a nap, amateur photographer Meta Penca took amazing shots of her fitness routine, which reportedly lasted about 15 minutes and included a number of poses. (credit:Meta Penca, Bournemouth News / Rex / Rex USA)
Dog Swallows Shot Glass(83 of90)
This dog wanted a drink. Meet Billy the German pointer and the shot glass he swallowed. The pooch underwent emergency surgery after doing a shot of Jagermeister -- and the glass it was served in. The 18-month-old, who lives in Darwin, Australia, downed the glass during a party thrown by house sitters while his owners were away. It wasn\'t until three days later when Billy began vomiting blood that the house sitters realized something was wrong. (credit:Newspix / Rex / Rex USA)
Skateboarding With Tillman(84 of90)
Tillman the skateboarding dog is always learning new tricks. The famed canine skater -- who is also an acclaimed surfer and snowboarder -- made an appearance at Madame Tussauds on the Las Vegas Strip on Sept. 16. (credit:Darrin Bush, AFP / Getty Images)
World's Smallest Cow(85 of90)
Swallow, an 11-year-old sheep-sized cow from the West Yorkshire region of England, is one of the stars of the 2011 edition of \"Guinness World Records.\" This 33-inch-high Dexter is the world\'s smallest cow. (credit:Guinness World Records)
Lip-Syncing Monkey(86 of90)
A female monkey lip-syncs during a show by the monkey drama troupe Prakit Sitpragaan in Bangkok in September. Prakit Sitpragaan has been performing traditional stories adapted from Asian classical novels and folklore in Thailand for more than 30 years. (credit:Rungroj Yongrit, EPA / Corbis)
Giant Atlas Moth(87 of90)
Giant Atlas moths have hatched at Berkeley Castle Butterfly House in Gloucestershire, England. These huge moths -- the largest in the world -- are native to the rain forests of Asia and South America. They don\'t have stomachs and their mouths do not form properly so they don\'t eat a thing during their two-week life span. (credit:SWNS)
Beer Deer(88 of90)
A pet deer at a resort in Weihai, northern China\'s Shandong province has become addicted to beer. According to Zhang Xiangxi, who works as a waitress at the resort\'s restaurant, she discovered the deer\'s unusual tastes last November when she was cleaning up after some customers. She comments: \"I saw a bottle of beer was still half full so I playfully passed it to the deer. Unexpectedly it bit the bottle and raised its head and drank all the beer in one shot.\" (credit:Quirky China News / Rex / Rex USA)
Two-Legged Lamb(89 of90)
A farmer in China\'s Shandong province has saved a two-legged lamb after being touched by its struggle to survive. Farmer Cui Jinxiu said the lamb was one of two born in July 2010. \"The first one was a very healthy and normal one,\" she told Rex USA. \"However, the second one surprised me. With a further look I was surprised to find that the lamb only has two legs.\" The family thought the lamb wouldn\'t survive, but it proved its strong desire to live. \"I thought of dumping it after it was born, but the next morning it even stood up by itself.\" (credit:Quirky China News / Rex / Rex USA)
Zookeeper Lives With Lions(90 of90)
Alexander Pylyshenko, 40, will live in a cage with two lions for five weeks to raise awareness about living conditions for animals in captivity. (credit:Getty)