Game Animals of India, etc. 



If there were only these two phases to deal with, the 

 West African might be separated as a distinct race, but 

 since both agree in the Q-eneral arranorement of their 



o o o 



spots, and thereby differ from the Asiatic representatives 

 of the species, such a classification does not adequately 

 express the relationships of the different modifications ; 

 and it would require a quadrinomial system to properly 

 indicate the distinctions. 



Indian leopards (fig. 52) have the spots larger, less 

 numerous, and more widely separated than in their 

 African representatives, while the rosettes extend 

 forwards on the back as far as the hind region of the 

 neck, and likewise reach some way down the upper 

 region of the limbs. The middle line of the back 

 never forms such a conspicuously dark streak as in 

 African leopards, and in many skins there is no 

 appreciable darkening in this region at all. Individual 

 specimens, more especially in the Malay countries, 

 may, however, be completely black, the spots and 

 rosettes then being visible only in certain lights. 

 Frequently the centres of the rosettes on the back are 

 appreciably darker than the general ground-colour. 

 As regards the length of the fur and the thickness ot 

 the tail, Indian and African leopards are very similar ; 

 the fur on both body and tail being short and close. 



As the Indian leopard appears to be the typical 

 representative of the species, its full title will be Felis 

 pardus typica. But Indian leopards are by no means pre- 

 cisely alike, the lesser form, which is the one generally 

 met with in the plains of the Peninsula, being character- 

 ised by the relatively small size of the rosettes, the pale 

 ground-colour, and the absence of darkening in the 

 central area of the rosettes, generally accompanied by 

 a relatively long tail and short head. On the other 

 hand, in the larger Indian leopard of the damp forest- 

 regions of Bengal, Assam, the Terai, Burma, and 

 probably the Malay countries, the ground-colour tends 

 to reddish, the central areas of the rosettes are darker 



314 



