66 THE MENDEL JOURNAL 



The two species in question are the European 

 Wild Cat {Fdis sylvestris) and the African Wild Cat 

 {Felis ocreata).* 



It is needless to describe these two species in 

 detail and to point out the comparatively small 

 differences that exist between them. The European 

 Cat extends at the present time from Scotland and 

 Spain in western Europe, through central Europe 

 as far as Asia Minor, but does not occur in Scandinavia. 

 The African Cat ranges along the southern shores 

 of the Mediterranean, and is said to occur in Sardinia. 

 The European species is a northern mountain form, 

 with a thick coat and bushy tail ; whereas the 

 African Cat is a southern low-country or desert 

 form, with a short coat and a thin tail. In structure, 

 proportions, size, and pattern, these two species 

 closely resemble domestic Tabbies of the Striped type 

 (Plate 1) ; and since, with the exception of the Jungle 

 Cat {Felis chaus), a larger, longer-legged, shorter- 

 tailed species than either of the others and than any 

 domestic cat, there are no other wild species of Felis 

 at all like our Striped Tabby occurring in the coun- 

 tries bordering the Mediterranean, the cradle of 

 European and north African civilisations, it is 



* Felis sylvestris is almost always called Fdis catus in works on 

 Natural History ; but the original description of Felis catus shows 

 clearly that the name was applied by Linnjeus to the domestic 

 blotched tabby, and cannot therefore be used for the European 

 wild cat. Fdis ocreata is better known as the Egyptian or fettered 

 cat, or the booted lynx {F. caligata, or maniculata), or the CafFre cat 

 {F. caffer), the latter being the south African as F. maniculata is the 

 north African representative of a species widely distributed on the 

 African continent. 



