AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 



Among the great Order of Carnivorous Mammals the Cats will 

 always claim the largest share of general interest, not only on 

 account of their including some of the largest and most power- 

 ful of all beasts of prey, but likewise from the beauty of their 

 form, the elegance of their coloration, and the gracefulness 

 and activity of their movements. Accordingly, in the present 

 volume of the "Naturalist's Library," this group of the Order 

 has been treated in comparatively full detail, and a large num- 

 ber of the species illustrated by plates, whereas in the less- 

 known group of Civets, Mungooses, &c, the amount of space 

 devoted to each genus and species is naturally less, and the 

 illustrations are much less numerous. 



In both groups every existing species hitherto described is 

 mentioned, together with its most important synonymy ; but 

 in several instances the question of the right of a particular 

 form to be regarded as a species, or merely as a variety, is 

 left more or less open. In the compilation of the volume 

 especial assistance has been derived from Mr. W. T. Blan- 

 ford's " Mammals of British India," from Professor St. George 

 Mivart's work on "The Cat," and his papers on the Cats and 

 Civets in the " Proceedings of the Zoological Society," and 

 also from various memoirs by Mr. Oldfield Thomas, published 

 in the same serial. 



RICHARD LYDEKKER. 



