— 239 — 



name liposticta available for servaline cats witb unspotted back and 

 the spots in other places more or less reduced, and the naine 

 pantasticta for the stronglv spotted forms. But even with such 

 a réduction the fact remains that stronglv spotted servaline cats 

 pantasticta occur in the same district (f. i. Lower Congo) as the 

 more or less unspotted ones liposticta-Larseni , and therefore the 

 doubt cannot be suppressed that even thèse represent onlv phases 

 of one and the same animal, although thev hâve a very différent 

 look. Among the cats, colour phases are of a common occurrence, 

 one of the most striking cases being the Felis aurata-celidogastci\ 

 which just PococK himself (/. c, p. 659) has helped to clear up in 

 the same paper, in which he separated Felis servalina pantasticta 

 and F. s. poliotriclia as subspecies. If the more or less yellow 

 (resp. red) or grev colour does not need to be even of subspecific 

 value among the cats, there are also examples that the présence or 

 absence of spots hâve just as little value. The Lvnx of Northern 

 Europe may f. i. be rather large spotted, smallspotted, or 

 unspotted. Considering such facts it does not appear impossible 

 that even Felis servalina pantasticta and F. s. liposticta {Larseni') 

 onlv represent difïerent phases of the same animal. 



In Proc. Zool. Soc, London, 1915, p. 154, is to be read a note 

 by G. Aylmer, which appears, at least at the first look, to make 

 such a thing almost more than possible and probable. The author 

 quoted has stated /. c. that a native in vSierra Leone « had brought 

 him two kittens, atmost certainlv from the same litter, one being 

 spotted like the Serval and the other obscurely speckled like the 

 Servaline Cat. » M. Aylmer draws from this the conclusions 

 « that the différences between the Servals and vServaline Cats are 

 of no systematic importance. » Even if the native évidence as to 

 the origin of thèse kittens is taken for good, and I hâve no reason 

 to doubt it, I think that the conclusion is a little too hastv. If the 

 degree of spottedness should be «c of no systematic importance », 

 it ought to foUow that in ail parts of Africa where Servals live as 

 vvell the comparativelv large-spotted as the speckled (resp. unspec- 

 kled) Servaline pattern should occur. It is, however, a well known 

 fact that this is not the case. As far as I am aware, no vServaline Cat 



