XIII LYNXES 397 
The Fishing Cat, / viverrina, of India and China, is about 
° feet 6 inches including the tail. Its black spots upon a grey- 
brown ground have a tendency to form longitudinal lines. It is 
in fact, on Eimer’s theory, a case of longitudinal stripes breaking 
up into spots. It differs from the bulk of Cats by preying upon 
‘fish, though it is not known how it catches them. It also feeds 
upon the large snail Ampullaria. In addition to these there are 
twenty-four species of Cats found in the Old World, mainly in the 
Oriental region, of small to moderate size. 
The European Lynx, /. lyna, has rather long legs, a short tail, 
Fic. 196.—EHuropean Lynx. Felis lynx. x qs. 
and tufted, pointed ears. It has only two premolars in the upper 
jaw instead of the usual three. It seems to be doubtful whether 
the Asiatic Lynx can be distinguished from the European, but 
the Spanish form, #. pardina, does appear to be distinct. The 
Common Lynx, sometimes called # canadensis, also ranges into 
America, where some other forms exist, known by the specific 
names of #. rufa and F. baileyi. 
In America there are altogether sixteen species of Cats, if 
we allow three species of Lynx, none of which, however, does 
Dr. Mivart allow to be different from the European and Asiatic 
Lynx (fF. lynz). 
