176 Lloyd's natural history. 



pressed, and the nasal bones very narrow superiorly ; anterior 

 upper premolar absent. Length of head and body, 25 inches ; 

 of tail, 12 inches. 



According to Herr Matschie, specimens obtained from 

 Tornquist, in Argentina, lying north of Bahia Blanca and 

 south of the Sierra de la Ventana, were almost uniformly 

 yellowish-grey, with scarcely any traces of dark banding ; the 

 inner sides of the limbs showing a single band ; while the 

 under-parts were white, and the legs and ears yellowish. 

 Some examples showed elongated spots like F. colocolo. 



Mr. Aplin observes that two kittens of this species brought 

 to him in Uruguay " were spotted on the legs and lower-parts, 

 and it was suggested that they might be the result of a cross 

 with the Monte-Cat (F guigna) ; but as the skins of two more 

 kittens, brought in with that of the old female a few days 

 before, were just the same, the spotted dress in youth is 

 evidently natural to this species. Exactly the same thing 

 happens in the case of the Puma." 



Distribution. — South America, on the east side of the Andes 

 from Uruguay through the Argentine pampas to Patagonia, 

 ranging as far south as the Straits of Magellan. In many of 

 the wilder parts of the Argentine, as in Patagonia, this species 

 is still common; but in the more settled districts of the former 

 country, as in those of Uruguay, systematic trapping has 

 greatly diminished its numbers. 



Habits. — Except that its ferocity is extreme, little definite has 

 been recorded of the habits of this Cat. In the Argentine it 

 lurks among the pampas- or paja-grass. Azara writes that 

 " the natives call this animal Gato pajero, because it lives 

 on the plains, concealing itself in the jungles, without entering 

 into the woods and thickets which the Eyra inhabits. I know 

 not, nor have I heard, that it exists in Paraguay, although it 

 may formerly have been seen there ; but as the country be- 



