The Jungle-Cat 



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 may be 

 detected ; and the occurrence of a black specimen has 

 been recorded in India. 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 pointed out, in the 

 Annals and Magazine of Natural History^ that the species 

 may be divided into several local races. As it was first 

 described upon the evidence of specimens obtained 

 from the neighbourhood of the Caspian, it is evident 

 that this region is the home of the typical jungle-cat 

 {Felis chaus typica) ; and the same race extends into 

 the Caucasus, Turkestan, and Persia, while it may not 

 improbably also occur in Baluchistan and Afghanistan. 

 From this typical race the Indian jungle-cat {Felis chaus 

 afinis) may be distinguished by its slighter build, 

 somewhat longer tail, and the bright foxy-red colour 

 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 {Felis chaus 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. 



Another race {Felis chaus -pallida^ occurs in North- 

 Western China, distinguished by its pale colour ; but 

 the most remarkable of the local races seems to be the 

 one from Palestine {Felis chaus furax)^ in which the 



337 z 



