THE OCELOT CATS—MEARNS. 247 



General cJmracters^.--B\zG xevy large. Ground-color tawny-rufous. 

 Spots of upper parts all black, not inclosing lighter areas. Postorbital 

 breadth of skull greater than length of nasals. 



Color. — The type (November) is heavily marked with l)lack on a 

 ground of tawny a))ove and smoke gray l)elow. Upper parts tawny, 

 tinged with rufous, of almost uniform intensity. Black pattern similar 

 to that of Fills pardalU Linn^us, except for its greater intensity. 

 The black markings only inclose light areas upon the sides, where the 

 inclosed areas are much smaller and very much less elongated, bearing, 

 in fact, a close resemblance to the pattern of FelU onga. Upper side 

 of neck with six longitudinal stripes, beginning ])etween the ears and 

 ending in front of the shoulders. The stripes forming the middle pair 

 are nearly parallel, about 4 mm. wide and 5 to 10 mm. apart; those of 

 the next pair begin 20 nuu. apart and (in the skin) end 55 mm. apart, 

 having a width of 5 mm. anteriorly and about 15 posteriorly. The 

 outer stripes begin 10 mm. internal to the ear, pass downward and out- 

 ward to the median outer side of the neck, having a pretty uniform 

 width of about 5 mm., except where narrowly bifurcating posteriorly. 

 Four irregular rows of solid, glossy-black spots extend from the 

 shoulders to the hips; these are mostly elongate, from 5 to 15 nun. in 

 width and 10 to 60 mm. in length. The oblique area of light bordered 

 with black between hips and shoulders, and the transverse black stripes 

 at the shoulders (characteristic of Fells iMrdaUs) are not plainly indi- 

 cated, but, instead, are broken up into spots which even form rosettes. 

 On the outer faces of the fore and hind limbs the tawny color becomes 

 slightly paler, and grayish on the feet. On the fore limbs the black 

 spots are rounded, and decrease from above downward, ranging from 

 3 to 18 mm. in diameter; the same being the case on the hind limbs, 

 where the spots vary from 3 to 25 mm, in diameter. The tail is red- 

 dish tawny above, irregularly spotted with black on basal three-tifths, 

 with five transverse subterminal black bands on last two-fifths, the 

 last three forming continuous .rings around the tail. The widest tail- 

 ring is 40 mm. in width. Inner surface of ear light tawny; outer 

 surface black, inclosing a rectangular gray spot measuring 13 by 

 18 mm. Top of head with two parallel, black, longitudinal stripes, 

 aljout 5 nuu. in width and 40 mm. apart, extending from above the 

 inner canthus of the eye to opposite the front of the ears. Space 

 Ijctween the stripes, and between the ears, spotted with black; in all 

 about forty spots, varying from 3 to 10 mm. in greatest diameter. 

 Side of head with two heavy black stripes, each about 7 mm. in width, 

 the upper beginning at the outer canthus of the eye, the inner midway 

 between the last point and the margin of the upper lip. these two end- 

 ing separately at side of neck below and behind ear. The large trian- 

 gular space between the lilack crown-stripe and the upper lateral stripe 

 spotted. On either side of underpart of the neck is a black spot, 



IS un;- 



