JUNGLE-CAT 443 



sufficient to form a distinct pencil, although their presence serves to 

 indicate the affinity of the jungle-cat to the lynxes, with which it 

 agrees in the characters of the skull and teeth. Another special 

 feature is in the more or less reddish colour of the backs of the ears. 

 The length of the tail varies from one-third to two-fifths of that of the 

 head and body. There are remarkable local variations in the size of 

 the teeth and the colour of the fur. 



The colour of the head and upper-parts of the body varies from 

 sandy or yellowish grey to greyish brown, the back being darker than 

 the flanks, often with a rufous, and more rarely a dusky tinge. 

 Although the head and body are generally of a uniform colour, there 

 are usually dusky bands across the limbs ; and in some skins reddish 

 stripes on the cheeks and a band of the same tint on the chest may 

 be observed. More rarely indistinct vertical rows of spots or wavy 

 lines occur. The under surface of the body is tawny or reddish 

 white ; the foot and ankle are brown beneath ; the tail has a black 

 tip, and several black rings in its terminal third ; and the ears generally 

 have black tips, and although often foxy red, may be more or less 

 grizzled. 



In 1898 Mr. W. E. de Winton, in the Annals and Magazine of 

 Natural History, divided the species into several local races. As it 

 was first described from specimens obtained in the neighbourhood of 

 the Caspian, this region is the home of the typical race which extends 

 into the Caucasus, Turkestan, and Persia, and may not improbably 

 also occur in Baluchistan and Afghanistan. From this race the 

 Indian jungle-cat {Felis chaus affinis) is distinguished by its slighter 

 build, somewhat longer tail, and the bright foxy red of the back of 

 the ears, which contrasts with the tawny of the rest of the head. The 

 skull is proportionally narrower, and the teeth are relatively smaller, 

 and less crowded together. On the other hand, the Egyptian jungle- 

 cat {F. c. nilotica), which closely resembles the typical race in form 

 and colour, although of rather superior size, is distinguished by the 

 darker and more grizzled ears, the colour of which does not form a 

 bold contrast to that of the rest of the head, as in the typical and 

 Indian races, in both of which the ears are foxy red, although brighter 

 in the latter than in the former. The range of this race includes 

 Egypt, Nubia, and Abyssinia. To the other Asiatic races it is 

 unnecessary to allude on the present occasion. In the Sportsman in 

 South Africa, by Messrs. Nicolls and Eglinton, the jungle-cat is 

 included among the fauna of southern Africa, but this is apparently 

 erroneous. 



