154 LLOYD’S NATURAL HISTORY. 
Characters.— Readily distinguished from all the other members 
of the Family by its extrent@fy elongated and Weasel-like body, 
short limbs, very long tail, and long and flattened head, this 
South American species is also one of the comparatively few 
uniformly-coloured forms. In colour the soft fur is uniform 
reddish-yellow or chestnut, with a whitish spot on each side of 
the upper lip. Pupil round. Skull much elongated and flat- 
tened, with the nasal region somewhat compressed laterally, 
and the anterior upper pre-molar present. In size the species 
may be compared to a rather small Domestic Cat, but with the 
limbs proportionately much shorter, and the body longer. 
Distribution.—Brazil, Guiana, and Paraguay, extending north- 
wards to the Rio del Norte between Mexico and Texas ; but 
much more rare to the north than to the south of the Isthmus 
of Panama. 
Habits —Information is still required as to the habits of this 
Cat in a stateof nature. It is, however, known to bea denizen 
of forests, and is extremely fierce in disposition, while its move- 
ments are extremely active and lithe. Five specimens had 
been exhibited in the London Zoological Gardens up to 1883, 
the first of which was purchased in 1860. ‘The latter was ex- 
tremely gentle in disposition, although one of the others proved 
untameable. Azara writes: ‘‘I had one nearly full-grown 
which had been captured young, and was as gentle and playful 
as any kitten could be; but I kept it chained, as it was a great 
enemy to poultry. It slept in the skirt of my garments, purr- 
ing, or making the zw7w of the Cats; Rats were an easy prey 
to it, and no one of the nine Paraguayan species could surpass 
it in the certainty with which it captured, or the promptitude 
with which it despatched, the largest Rats, as well as birds of 
all kinds.” 
With regard to the restriction to the name Eyra to the present 
species, the reader is referred to the Jaguarondi, on page 151. 
