i 
THE TIGER-CAT. 145 
felis margay, Azara, Nat. Hist. Quad. Paraguay, p. 237 (1838). 
Leopardus tigrinoides, Gray, List Mamm. Brit. Mus. p. 42 
(1843). 
? Felis guttata, Hensel, Abhandl. Ak. Berlin, 1872, p. 73; 
Mivart, The Cat, p. 410 (1881 ; zee Hermann). 
(Plate XVIL.) 
Characters.—The Tiger-Cat, of which there are three more or 
less well-marked races, is another variable American species, 
distinguished from the last by the shorter and frequently solid 
spots, which are not aggregated into oblique chains. In the 
typical form, or Margay, the somewhat harsh fur is dull grizzled 
grey in ground-colour, ornamented with elongated black spots 
and rings; the tail being likewise marked above with black 
spots, which frequently coalesce into transverse bars, although 
not forming complete rings. The cheek is marked with three 
transverse black bars. In length the head and body measure 
rather more than 20 inches, and the tail 11 inches. 
The variety known as the Chati (/ mitis), which is the one 
represented in our illustration, is a somewhat larger animal, 
with soft, bright fulvous fur, and black-bordered short spots of 
variable size, in which the centres are sometimes pale-coloured. 
The Long-tailed Cat (/ macrura) is likewise a yellow-coloured 
form, characterised by the length of the tail. In these forms 
the length of the head and body may reach nearly 27 inches, 
while that of the tail varies from 14 to 19 inches. It does not 
appear that the Cat from Rio Grande do Sul, described by 
Hensel as / guttata, can be distinguished from the present 
species. 
According to Herr Matschie, in the wooded districts of 
Argentina there may be found in a single neighbourhood a 
complete transition as regards colour between specimens in 
which the ground-colour of the fur is greyish and the black- 
bordered spots are elongated, and those in which the ground- 
7 L 
