N. GYLDENSTOLPE, MAMMALS COLLECTED IN SIAM. 25 



27. Felis bengalensis Kerr. — During my stay at 

 the Laos village of Sakerat some natives brought me a kitten 

 of this wildcat. It was rather fierce, and it always tried to 

 scratch or bite as soon as anybody attempted to stroke it. 

 I kept it in captivity for about a month when it unfortuna- 

 tely died. 



In Non Luum I was shown a skin of this species. But 

 the skin was in snch a bad condition that it was of no use 

 but for identification. It had been killed some days before 

 my arrival in the jungles surrounding the village. The wild- 

 cats living in Siarn are quite nocturnal in their habits, and 

 are very seldom observed during day-time. 



In the northern parts of the country I only once came 

 upon some tracks which could have been made by wild-cats. 



In Siamese they are called »Meow-paa». 



28. Felis domestica Briss. — There are two kinds 

 of domesticated cats in Siarn. The most commonly seen cat 

 in the southern and central parts of the country is of a 

 bright fawn colour, shading into deep sepia. The eyes are 

 blue and the end of the tail has a very peculiar twist and 

 is bent downwards nearly in right angle for about o or 6 

 centimeters. These cats are very nice animals and thorough- 

 bred specimens are much sought after by cat-lovers often 

 commanding a very high price. 



In the Laos states of Upper Siarn I several times saw 

 silver-blue cats with bright yellow eyes and without the 

 peculiar twist on the tails. 



This should also be a thorough-bred species and among 

 the Europeans it went under the name of »Laos-cats». This 

 species is not so highly valued as the real Siamese cat. 



29. Viverra megaspila Noack. — Noack: Jahr. Hamb. 

 Wiss. Anstalt. IX, p. 52. — When passing through the 

 forests between Pak Pan and Vang Nun I met a small cara- 

 van of Laos people making for the märket at Muang Pré. 

 One of the natives brought with him a skin of a Civet, 

 which he had shot some days before at the vicinity of Muang 

 Long. I bought the skin which turned out to belong to the 

 above-mentioned species. 



