Where the shape comes from
A long-backed, clawed animal crouched low and arched, ready to spring — a wild predator rather than the penned pig of 豕. It appears in 豹, a leopard, and in the traditional 貓, a cat, before the simplified 猫 replaced it with 犭, the same beast-radical used for dogs and other four-legged animals; and it extends, by way of a wild creature’s distinctive look, into 貌, appearance, looks.
汉字 filed under 豸
No published character on HSK Guide is filed under this radical yet. 汉字库.