102 LLOYDS NATURAL HISTORY. 



Felts unicolor^ Lesson, loc. cit. 



Leopardus concolor, Gray, List Mamm. Brit. Mus. p. 43 (1843) ■> 



id., Cat. Carniv. Mamm. Brit. Mus. p. 12 (1869) 



Uncia concolor. Cope, American Naturalist, vol. xxiii. February, 



p. 193 (1889). 



{Plate VI II.) 



Characters. — Size somewhat inferior to that of the Jaguar. 

 General colour of fur tawny, tending to whitish on the under- 

 pays ; but the summer coat tending more to a reddish, and 

 the winter one to a greyish hue. Middle line of back darker 

 than the sides, and the end of the tail dusky-brown. Ears 

 black externally, with a central whitish area ; upper lip white 

 from the nostrils to the middle of the mouth, where there is a 

 conspicuous black spot ; nostrils flesh-coloured. Pupil of eye 

 circular when contracted. Skull of great vertical depth, con- 

 nected with the arch of the hyoid bone by a chain of bones, 

 as in the Domestic Cat. Total average length about 7 feet 

 1 inch, of which 2^ feet are taken up by the tail. Cubs with 

 the upper-parts and limbs marked with large blackish-brown 

 spots, and the tail ringed with the same colour j these markings 

 disappearing in about six months after birth. 



There is considerable individual variation in the coloration 

 of the Puma, but this has not yet been correlated with local 

 distribution. Burmeister, in his " Description of the Argentine 

 Republic," remarks that " very rarely individuals of this species 

 of a brown or nearly black colour have been found ; while 

 variations between yellowish-brown and yellowish-grey are not 

 uncommon. I am aware that individuals nearly white, and 

 others nearly black, have been observed, but I haw aot seen 

 them myself." 



With regard to the coloration of the young, Mr. True 

 observes that although the markings disappear more or less 

 completely about the period indicated above, yet they persist 



