European Lynx 79 



paratively familiar animal as the lynx of Northern Europe and Asia would, 

 on the present occasion, be quite superfluous. Apart from the very pale- 

 coloured Tibetan race of the species, to which reference is made in Great 

 and Small Game of India, Burma, and Tibet, the ground-colour of the 

 beautifully soft and thick fur of the upper -parts and limbs is rufous 

 fiwn, with a tinge of grey, but in some European examples a decidedly 

 ferruginous tint is noticeable, this being particularly the case with one skin 

 in the British Museum. The under-parts are white, and generally devoid 

 of spots. The comparatively short summer coat of the upper-parts and 

 limbs is, however, always marked with a number of solid black spots of 

 medium size and somewhat irregular shape ; these being apparently more 

 strongly developed in immature than in fully adult individuals. Except 

 on the flanks and limbs, and sometimes there also, the longer and thicker 

 winter dress, which is usually of a greyer tinge, is devoid of spots in many 

 cases, but in some instances (possibly immature individuals) it may be 

 almost if not quite as fully spotted as the summer dress. In Asiatic 

 specimens, according to Mr. Blanford, the winter dress is invariably with- 

 out spots ; and if this be so, there may be a distinct Asiatic race ot the 

 species in addition to the one inhabiting Tibet. Further information is, 

 however, required with regard to the seasonal and local variations displayed 

 by the spotting of the lynx of Northern Europe and Asia. The tip of 

 the tail is black, as are the tufts and backs of the ears, with the exception 

 of a triangular greyish area on the latter ; and there may be some black 

 hairs mingled with the light ones of the throat-rufl\ Occasionally, too, 

 lynxes are met with in which there is a dark band across the throat. In 

 size the European lynx is a comparatively large animal, the length of the 

 head and body being about 33 inches, and that of the tail 7^ inches. 



The distributional area of the European lynx (assuming the Asiatic form 

 to be identical) includes Northern Scandinavia, Russia, Northern Asia, and 

 some of the mountainous districts of Central and Eastern Europe, as well as 



