190 MOSTLY MAMMALS 



the former type of coloration, there seems full justification 

 for regarding them as the descendants of the Egyptian 

 cat. Moreover, the tail of the latter is distinctly longer 

 and less bushy than that of the wild cat, and thus more 

 like that of the domestic breeds. Additional evidence in 

 favour of the southern origin of our domesticated breeds 

 has been furnished by Dr. G. Martorelli, of Milan, who 

 has described two European wild cats, the one from 

 Sardinia and the other from the Tuscan Maremma. These 

 are stated to be very different from the ordinary wild cat, 

 and to approximate to the Egyptian cat, of which they 

 are regarded as forming a race or variety, under the name 

 of the Mediterranean cat {F. mediterranea). As these cats 

 are stated to present considerable resemblance to domes- 

 ticated breeds, there can be little hesitation in accepting 

 the view that, so far as Europe is concerned, the latter 

 were originally derived from the Egyptian cat. 



But Prof Martorelli goes one step farther than this, 

 and suggests that the European wild cat, through the 

 intervention of the Mediterranean race of the Egyptian 

 cat, is hkewise descended from the latter. Curiously 

 enough, Dr. Hamilton, from the circumstance that certain 

 fossil remains found in Belgium and England seemed to 

 belong to F. libyca rather than F. caius, had previously 

 hazarded the conjecture " that the European wild cat and 

 the Egyptian domestic cat are derived from one common 

 ancestor." 



Although it is going a little out of the way, it may be 

 mentioned here that, in the opinion of Prof Martorelli, the 

 Egyptian cat has given rise to another line of descendants. 

 The first species on this line is the jungle-cat (^F. chaus) 

 of India and Africa, while the second place is occupied by 

 the various species of lynxes, between which and the 



