THE SERVAL CAT 17 



on the inside of the fore-leg ; the throat is crossed 

 by a more or less well-defined row of small spots, 

 which may coalesce in necklace fashion. 1 The 

 tail is always ringed and tipped with black. 



The above paragraph describes a typical serval 

 as far as such a varying species can be reduced to 

 a common denomination ; there exists, however, 

 a smaller variety, which Burchell, who discovered 

 it in 1812-14, described as a separate species, 

 under the name of the black-footed cat (Felis 

 nigripes). This black-footed serval is smaller 

 than the typical form, and is deeply marked with 

 black on the lower parts of the body, the legs and 

 the soles of the feet. It is now a rare animal ; 

 an old specimen obtained at Kuruman many years 

 ago by Dr. Moffatt is in the South African 

 Museum at Cape Town, and has been figured in 

 Mr. W. L. Sclater's " Mammals of South Africa." 

 The British Museum has an example, and it is 

 also represented in the collection at Berlin. The 

 serval seems to be rather liable to melanism, 

 since several individuals have been shot having 

 the whole fur of a brownish-black, though the 

 spots can be detected in certain lights. On the 

 other hand, this protean species may show a 

 tendency towards reduction in the size of the 

 black spots, thus approximating to the closely 

 allied Servaline cat (Felis servalina). 



i These throat markings may be compared to the " Lord Mayor's 

 Collar " seen on well-bred Persian cats. 



