THE JAGUAR. 95 



A specimen killed by Captain Davvkins in 1884 measured 

 5 feet 11^ inches in total length; of which 36 inches was 

 occupied by the tail. In this instance, therefore, the length 

 of the tail was a fraction in excess of that of the head and 

 body. Another specimen, in which the tail also measured 

 36 inches, had a total length of 6 feet 4 inches ; while 

 Sterndale gives the total length of a very large individual as 

 7 feet 4 inches, out of which 3 feet were taken up by the tail. 



V. THE JAGUAR. FELIS ONCA. 



Felts o?ica, Linn., Syst. Nat. ed. 12, vol. i. p. 61 (1766); 



Elliot, Monograph of Felidae, pi. v. (1878-83). 

 Leopardus hemandesit, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1857, p. 278. 

 Leopardus o?ica, Gray, op. cit. 1867, p. 264, and Cat. Carniv. 



Mamm. Brit. Mus. p. 11 (1869). 

 Uncia ojica, Cope, American Naturalist, vol. xxiii. p. 143 



(1889). 



{Plate VII.) 



Characters. — Size equal to, or perhaps rather superior to, that 

 of the Leopard. Colour and markings generally similar to 

 those of the latter, but the dark rings larger and arranged 

 more definitely in groups, each ring generally enclosing one or 

 more dark spots, and its enclosed light area being of the same 

 hue as the general ground-colour of the fur, which is typically 

 of a rich tan. On the sides of the body the rosettes are 

 usually arranged in seven or eight more or less definable 

 longitudinal rows. Considerable variation exists, however, 

 in the coloration, specimens having been described in which 

 the fur is blackish-brown, with the markings of a still deeper 

 shade, while other individuals are completely black. These 

 dark specimens appear to be most common in the northern 

 parts of South America, whereas, in the southern portions of 

 the animal's range, a yellow or even whitish tinge not un* 



