AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 
——— 
AMONG the great Order of Carnivorous Mammals the Cats will 
always claim the largest share of general interest, not only on 
account of their including some of the largest and most power- 
ful of all beasts of prey, but likewise from the beauty of their 
form, the elegance of their coloration, and the gracefulness 
and activity of their movements. Accordingly, in the present 
volume of the ‘‘ Naturalist’s Library,” this group of the Order 
has been treated in comparatively full detail, and a large num- 
ber of the species illustrated by plates, whereas in the less- 
known group of Civets, Mungooses, &c., the amount of space 
devoted to each genus and species is naturally less, and the 
illustrations are much less numerous. 
In both groups every existing species hitherto described is 
mentioned, together with its most important synonymy ; but 
in several instances the question of the right of a particular 
form to be regarded as a species, or merely as a variety, is 
left more or less open. In the compilation of the volume 
especial assistance has been derived from Mr. W. T. Blan- 
ford’s ‘‘ Mammals of British India,” from Professor St. George 
Mivart’s work on ‘‘ The Cat,” and his papers on the Cats and 
Civets in the “ Proceedings of the Zoological Society,” and 
also from various memoirs by Mr. Oldfield Thomas, published 
in the same serial. 
RICHARD LYDEKKER. 
