THE PUMA, OR AMERICAN LION : FELIS CONCOLOR OF LINMUS. 



By Frederick \Y. True, 

 Curator of the Department of Mammals. 



The Puma is the only large, unspotted, native American cat.* The 

 general color of the fur is tawny, but on the under surfaces of the body 

 it is whitish. The color of the central line of the back is darker than 

 that of tbe sides and the end of the tail is dusky brown. The ears are 

 black externally, with a central whitish area. The upper lip is white 

 from the nostrils to the middle of the month, and at the latter point is 

 a prominent black spot. The nostrils are flesh-colored. Baird com- 

 pares the color of the Prima to that of the Virginia deer, and states that 

 it varies with the seasons as it does in the deer ; that is, the summer 

 coat is reddish and the winter coat grayish. t 



There is much variation in color among individuals of this species, 

 but it has not been proven that this is correlated with the varying 



* Nine species of cats are found in North America uorth of the Isthmus of Pan- 

 ama. These are — 



The Puma, Felis eoneolor Linue. 



The Jaguar, Felis onca Linue. 



The Ocelot, Felis partialis Linne". 



The Tiger Cat, Felis tigrina Erxleben. 



The Eyra, Felis eyra Desmarest. 



The Yaguaruudi, Felis yaonarundi Desmarest. 



Tbe Bay Lynx, Lynx rufus (Giildenstiidt). 



The Plateau Lynx, Lynx, baileyi Merriam. 



The Canada Lynx, Lynx canadensis (Desmarest). 



The Puma, on account of its wonderfully extensive range, reaching from Patagonia 

 to Canada, may perhaps be considered as the most characteristic of American animals, 

 though it is less powerful than the Jaguar. The, Jaguar and Ocelot enter the terri- 

 tory of the United States only on the extreme southwestern border. The Eyra, Ya- 

 guarundi, aud Tiger Cat have never been found north of the Rio Grande. The Lynxes 

 are common in the United States. The spotted form of the Bay Lynx, found in Texas, 

 and the banded form, found in Oregon and Washington, have been described as sep- 

 arate species, uuder the names Lynx maoulatus and Lynx fasciatus. They are now 

 generally regarded as geographical races; of the Bay Lynx, The Canada Lynx is a dis- 

 tinct species. 



t Baird, Mammals of North America, 1^59, p. 83. 



