246 AFRICAN GAME ANIMALS 



Key to the Races of juhatus 



Ground-color of body bufF without pinkish suffusion; spots on hind 

 feet well marked; dark spots on dorsal region numer- 

 ous, predominating in area over the ground-color; 

 pelage longer velox 



Ground-color light, pale pinkish-bufF; spots on hind feet small or 

 indistinct; dark spots on back fewer, the ground- 

 color predominating; pelage shorter 

 Dorsal dark spots larger, ^ inch in diameter; ground-color lighter 

 than ochraceous; hind feet spotted 



raineyi 



Dorsal dark spots smaller, % inch in diameter; ground-color 

 ochraceous; hind feet unspotted scemmeringii 



Highland Cheetah 



Acinonyx juhatus velox 



Native Name: Masai, engingylasho. 



Acinonyx jubatus velox Heller, 1913, Smith. Misc. Coll., vol, 61, No. 19, p. 7. 



Range. — From the Rift Valley and Laikipia Plateau 

 westward over the highland country as far as the Nile low- 

 lands; north to the latitude of Nimule and south through 

 German East Africa. 



The highland cheetah is characterized by its large, close- 

 set black spots, which predominate over the ground-color in 

 area, by the boldly spotted hind legs, long pelage, and large 

 body size. The race has been recently described from a 

 specimen shot by Kermit Roosevelt on the Loita Plains 

 of British East Africa. The typical race, jubatus, which 

 inhabits South Africa, differs by having darker ground-color, 

 smaller spots, and smaller body size. The two lowland 

 races, scemmeringii, of the Soudan, and raineyi, of the coast 

 of East Africa, are both distinguishable from velox by their 

 pinkish-buff coloration and shorter pelage. 



The dorsal ground-color of adults is ochraceous, deepest 

 on midline of back and palest on sides and belly, where it 

 shades into cream-buff. The black spots on the back are 

 circular in outline, measuring three-quarters of an inch in 



