i8o Lloyd's natural history. 



Length of bead and body, from 18 to 22 inches ; of tail, 9 to 10 

 inches. The species may be compared in size to an ordinary 

 Domestic Cat. 



The coloration is described by Mr. Blnnford as follows : — 

 "Very pale sandy (fulvescent grey or light isabelline), with 

 numerous small black roundish spots on the body, and still 

 smaller elongate spots on the crown and nape, those on 

 the crown having a tendency to form longitudinal bands 

 Fur of back dusky-grey near the base, thence to the end 

 pale rufescent, tip still paler. There are some narrow black 

 cross-lines outside the limbs, and two distinct black bars inside 

 each fore-arm ; also the usual cheek-stripes, which are brown. 

 The lower-parts are pale rufescent, with a few black spots ; the 

 chin, throat, and front of the breast white and unspotted, the 

 fore-neck rufescent. Ears externally the same colour as the 

 back, with a few elongate brown hairs at the end. Tail with 

 some black transverse bands above, which form rings towards 

 the end ; the tip being black. Paws black beneath." 



This and the four next forms, namely, Shaw's Cat, the Jun- 

 gle Cat, the Pale Cat, and the Steppe Cat, are all very closely 

 allied, being distinguished by the slight pencil of hairs at the 

 summit of each ear. Felis c/iat/s, writes Mr. W. L. Sclater in 

 the " Catalogue of Mammals in the Indian Museum, Calcutta," 

 "can be distinguished at once by its black pencil, and its 

 pepper-and-salt colour, with no trace of lines or spots on the 

 body. F cauda fa is very indistinctly spotted, but has a long 

 tail, twice the length of that o^F. chaus. F. ornata and F. shaw- 

 iana seem to resemble each other in every respect, although 

 Mr. Blanford distinguishes the latter from the former by its 

 shorter tail, its more rufous coloration, and the presence of 

 distinct black spots on the tail. With regard to the first dis- 

 tinction, the tails of the two known specimens of F shawiana 

 are certainly shorter than those of the specimens of F.ornata; 



