480 Zoological Society. 



generally assemble in large numbers; but in the immediate vicinity of 

 such situations the king never deigns to associate with his vassals." 



At the request of the Chairman, Mr. W. Martin read the follow- 

 ing description of a new species of the genus Felis. 



"The beautiful species oi Felis to which I beg leave to call the 

 attention of the Meeting was brought from Java or Sumatra, and 

 obtained, with other specimens from the same locality, from Mr. 

 Gould. The only writer, as far as I can learn, who notices it, is 

 Sir W. Jardine in the ' Naturalist's Library,' in which work are two 

 figures from specimens in the Edinburgh Museum; but he there 

 confounds it with the Felis Diardi of Cuvier, to which species, as 

 indeed also to the Felis Bengalensis, it bears a close affinity in the 

 style and colour of its markings. It will be easy, however, to show 

 that the Felis Diardi is a very different species to the present. The 

 first description of the jP. Diardi is in the fourth volume of Cuvier's 

 Ossemens Fossihs, p. 437. 'There is,' says Cuvier, 'in Java an- 

 other wild Cat larger than Felis Bengalensis, very remarkable for the 

 beautiful regularity of its blotches, of which Messrs. Diard and Du- 

 vaucel have transmitted to us a skin and a drawing. We shall de- 

 signate it Felis Diardi' After describing its colour, he adds, * The 

 head is six inches, the tail 2 feet 4 inches, the body 2 feet and a 

 half, and its height at the shoulder must be 18 inches.' (French mea- 

 sures.) With regard to the Felis Diardi, it is somewhat questionable 

 whether it be distinct from the Felis macrocelis, or not ; at all events 

 it is a large Cat closely allied to, if not identical with that animal, 

 but certainly distinct from the Cat before the Meeting. 

 " The admeasurements of this species are as follows : 



Feet. Inches. 



Head and body 1 11 



Head from nose to occiput, following 1 q t-i 



the arch of the skull j ^ 



Tail 1 3| 



Height at shoulder 10^ 



Total length 3 2-i 



*' It may be observed, that the individual is adult, as proved by 

 the state of the dentition; its colouring agrees closely with that de- 

 tailed by Sir W. Jardine. The ground tint is rusty grey the rufous 

 tinge prevailing on the top of the head down the middle of the back, 

 over the cheeks, chest, scapulse, fore limbs, and thighs. On the top 

 of the head are two longitudinal markings of black inclosing a space 

 cut up by irregular small rings or dashes of black, and external to 

 these begin two decided black lines (commencing over each eye), 

 which become broader on the occiput and back of the neck, on 

 which latter part they converge, but do not come in contact with 

 each other; they then sweep over the top of each shoulder, blending 

 with the markings of the body. 



" Continued from the first-described central markings on the head, 

 there runs between these two decided stripes a broken line, as- 

 suming between the shoulders the form of elongated open spots, and 



