Its characters. 545 



termination of the muzzle is abrupt. The forehead is rather de- 

 pressed and plane, and the pose but slightly elevated. The 

 general aspect, even in a state of nature, indicates less ferocity 

 than that of the Tiger or Leopard ; the character of the eyes and 

 the physiognomy have considerable resemblance to those of the 

 Domestic Cat. On the upper lip and cheeks short whiskers, alter- 

 nately of a white and black colour, are scattered ; small fascicles 

 of stiff hairs are also situated above the eyes. The ears are small 

 and rounded. The teeth, as far as regards the generic character, 

 present nothing peculiar : in the specimen before me, the second 

 set of canine teeth is protruding, while the first still occupies its 

 original situation. The neck is rather slender and of moderate 

 length. In its general habit, our animal has much of the elegance 

 and gracefulness of the Leopard : the form of the body is on the 

 whole cylindrical ; the breast and flanks have a moderate ro- 

 tundity, and not the flatness which is frequently observed in the 

 Tiger, but in the character of the extremities, our animal resembles 

 the latter species. The strength and robustness of the thighs, legs, 

 and feet, aff'ord a peculiarity to it, which has very properly been 

 taken by M. Temminck, as the character of the species. The 

 tail is of greater length and fulness than in any other species of 

 Felis hitherto discovered : it is equal in length, to the body and 

 neck together. The hairy covering of the tail, is longer and more 

 delicate than that of the body ; it increases in thickness towards 

 the extremity of that organ, where it has a lanuginous texture. In 

 general the animal is thickly cloathed with fur, which is of mode- 

 rate length, soft to the touch, and provided at the base with a soft 

 down. 



The ground colour of our animal is a whitish gray, inclining to ci- 

 nereous or to brownish gray, and one of the peculiarities mentioned 

 by Sir Stamford Rafllcs, is the almost entire absence of yellow or 

 red in the external tint. On the upper portions of the neck and 

 bacli, the tint is more purely cinereous; on the abdomen, the 

 interior of the thighs, and the tail underneath, a slight admixture 

 of tawny is observed in the fur, which appears to increase with 

 the age of the animal. This ground is more closely covered, in 

 the Felis Mucrocclis, with spots and bands, defined posteriorly by 



