FELID. E 



5i7 



as it is met with in various suitable localities, where not too much 

 interfered with by human cultivation, throughout the greater part 

 of Africa from Algeria to the Cape Colony, and through the whole 

 of the South of Asia from Palestine to China, including all India 

 south of the Himalaya, and the islands of Ceylon, Java, Sumatra, 

 and Borneo. Fossil bones and teeth, indistinguishable from those 

 of existing Leopards, have been found in cave-deposits of Pleisto- 

 cene age in Spain, France, Germany, and England. The evidence 

 of the former existence of the Leopard in England is described at 

 length by Boyd DawMns and Sanford in their British Pleistocene 

 MammoMa? 



The Ounce, or Snow Leopard (F. mcia), inhabits the highlands 

 of Central Asia, from the lofty mountains of Tibet to the southern 

 parts of Siberia, at altitudes of from 9000 to 18,000 feet above the 

 sea. It is about the size of the common Leopard, but lighter in 

 colour, Avith longer fur, less distinct spots, and a long thick tail. 

 Its skull differs in shape from that of all the other Felidce ; the 

 facial portion being very broad, the nasal bones especially being- 

 wide and depressed, and the zygomatic arches very strong and 

 deep. The Clouded Tiger (F. nebulosa 2 ) is a beautifully marked 

 species, with elongated head 

 and body, long tail, and rather 

 short limbs. The canine teeth 

 are proportionally longer than 

 in any existing member of 

 the genus. It is thoroughly 

 arboreal, and is found in the 

 forests of South-East Asia and 

 the islands of Sumatra, Java, 

 Borneo, and Formosa. 

 F. served, the Serval, from 

 South Africa, is vellow with jg 

 black spots, and has a short ^mr-s^ISi 



tail and large ears. Numer- 

 ous smaller species called Tiger 

 Cats and Wild Cats, of which 

 the Oriental F. marmorata 

 (Fig. 227) is a good example, 

 are found throughout the 

 warmer parts of Asia and 

 Africa. The Wild Cat of Europe, F. catus, still inhabits the 

 mountainous and wooded parts of Great Britain. 



The Caffre Cat (F. caffira '■''), of Africa and Southern Asia, was the 

 species held in veneration by the ancient Egyptians, and immense 



1 Monographs of the Palccontographical Society, 1872. 

 - Syn. /•'. macrocelis. :; Syn. F, maniculata and caligata. 



Pig. 227.— The Marbled Cat (Felis marmorata). 

 From Blanford, Mammalia of British India, p. 74, 

 after Elliot. 



