Mumiiinlid . \'2\. 



Felts Leopardus. (The Leopard.) Ground colour of upper 

 and lateral parts of head and ueck, back, sides, and outer sur- 

 faces of extremities, tawny or tawny white, inclined to fulvous, el- 

 even in some specimens to clear red- brown on the hack ; th« 

 chin, neck, breast, belly, and insides of extremities, wliite or 

 whitish. The forehead and sides of the head freely mottled 

 with small blackish spots ; the neck, anterior part of back, 

 shoulders, belly, and extremiiies, similarly variegated: the 

 spots on outer surfaces of thighs and shoulders much the 

 largest, those towards feet small. Middle of baok marked 

 with closely set spots of an oblong form, and the sides with 

 small ones disposed in irregular circles, eacli of which is distinct- 

 from the others around it, and has the centre of a darker tint 

 than the prevailing ground colour. Centre of face tawny freely 

 pencilled with black but not spotted ; lower part of muzzle 

 reddish white, and behind each nostril a short longitudinal black 

 stripe ; edges of upper and lower lips, towards angles of mouth, 

 black, the rest of the upper, tawny white with tlirec narrow 

 continuous or spotted black lines o\er the whiskeis ; the latter 

 white intermixed with a few black bristles. Eyes tine yellow; 

 outer surfaces of ears black with a transverse fulvous blotch 

 near tips; some of the spots on the lower part of the neck run 

 more or less into each other, and form something like two 

 transverse stripes, one at commencement of breast and another 

 about half-way between that and the chin. Tail closely set 

 with large irregular black spots, which, on its upper surface, 

 are separated by narrow fulvous lines, and below by white ones; 

 towards tip it is white beneath, and above indistinctly annulated 

 black and white ; the tip itself is black. Claws yellowish white. 

 Length from nose to base of tail about four feet ten inches ; 

 length of tail two feet eight inches. 



Inhabits Africa and India, — not uncommon in South Africa. 



Lin. iSyst. Nat. Gra. i. p 77- Fells Leopardus, Cuv. Anyt. 

 du Mvs. xvi. J). 148. tab. 10. Fclis Pardus, 'I'hunb. Mem. 

 de I' Acad, de Petersb. iii. p. 30-3. Tiger of the Cape Colooistn. 



Obs. It is difTicult to finil any two inJividuals of this species wh.'cU 

 eiactly resemble each other. The ground colour is subject to con- 

 siderable variation, not only in the ditTerent sexes but oven iu the sarce 

 sex at different ages and at dittcrent times of the year. Tlio spota aro 

 also found to vary in appearance and number, antl t'le tail lias Hcldoni 

 the colours arranged in the same way in any two sipeciraens. The fe- 

 male as ir.ct with in South Africa is commonly about a third muallcr thaji 

 the male, with the ground colour generally darker, at least upon llio 

 back and upper portions of the side?. The occurrence of such discrc- 

 ftancics may probably have given rise to the establishment of mora 

 ■pecies tliaa ftciually exist in nature, and vplien the I'eli.H Leopardus, 

 F. ParduB, and l'". i'ardus Antiquorum, are compared together with at- 

 tctitioD, and Uie variations to which the first i-< kuowa to hi; subject, t« 

 Iteptta ri«w, it srill probably toadoiittctl Uiat ihey are sot tliree syt^cTe*, 



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