32 QUADRUPEDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



FAMILY VI. FELID^. The Cat Family. 



Genus Lyncus. The Lynx. 



Generic characters. Dental system ; incisors f ; canines ~i ; 

 molars |=f ; r= 2S ; feet four-toed ; nails retractile ; head short ; 

 ears tufted, triangular. 



1. Lyncus borealis. The Canada Lynx. 



Felis Canadensis, Lin., Cat Lynx, Penn., Arct. Zool., i. p. 50. 

 Felis Canadensis, Geoff. An. du Mus. Sabine, Franklin's Journ., p. 

 659. Richardson, Fauna Bor. Am. p. lOL Harlan, Fauna Am. p. 98. 

 The Northern Lynx, Godman, Nat. Hist. i. p. 302. 

 Figure ; Ibid., p. 302. 



Specific characters. Color gray ; ears tufted, with long black 

 hair springing just behind the apex, bordered posteriorly with 

 black, and running into the tuft ; hair long and soft ; tail short, 

 terminated with black. 



Description. The general color is rather a silvery gray, with a 

 yellowish tint beneath, which appears if the hair is but slightly 

 disturbed ; extremities of the hairs brownish, then white, and 

 then brownish extending to the base, intermixed with others en- 

 tirely black ; darker along the back ; the fur along the back and 

 head is brown ; along the back of the neck, sido's, tail, and its 

 base, yellowish ; the tail beneath has a white stripe ; hair upon 

 the breast and belly long, white, but still terminated with brown- 

 ish ; one brown spot on each fore leg near the body, and several 

 on the breast behind the legs ; ears terminated with pencils or 

 tufts entirely black ; bordered with black, which extends near to 

 the base on the posterior, but only about half that distance on the 

 anterior side ; inside of this border it is yellowish, but more dis- 

 tinct posteriorly ; base of the lower jaw surrounded with a fringe 

 of long hair, shorter in the female ; it is intermixed with gray, 

 black, and white, the middle portion black ; mouth surrounded 

 with brownish fur or hair, more distinct at the extremity of the 

 lower jaw ; white beneath ; whiskers black and white ; tail ter- 

 minated with black ; white beneath ; legs yellowish behind ; toes 



