THE JAGUARONDITHE EYRA 423 



The ordinary variety, according to Professor Mivart, "has rather harsh fur, of 

 a dull grizzled color, varied with black spots and rings. The tail is marked with 

 small black spots, often confluent, but not forming rings. There are three trans- 

 verse black stripes on the cheek. The head and body measure together a little 

 over twenty-four inches, and the tail is about eleven inches long." There are, 

 however, two well-marked varieties, one of which is known as the chati, while the 

 other, represented in our figure on page 422, has been called F. macrura ; both 

 of these being characterized by the softness of their fur, their bright fulvous color, 

 and the circumstance that their spots, which vary much in size, do not run together 

 so as to form the chain-like pattern of the typical form. In some cases the black 

 patches enclose central areas of a paler tint. In these varieties the length of the 

 head and body may be but little short of twenty-seven inches ; while the length of 

 the tail varies from fourteen to nineteen inches. 



Another spotted cat, exclusively confined to South America, is Geoffrey's cat 

 {F.' guigna) . It has generally been regarded as confined to the forest regions of 

 Chili and Peru, but, according to Mr. W. H. Hudson, is also found on the Argen- 

 tine pampas, where it is known as the woodcat. Like the jaguar, it is, as Mr. 

 Hudson remarks, probably there as an intruder from wooded districts to the north- 

 ward of the pampas. 



THE JAGUARONDI (Felis jaguarondi} 



The jaguarondi, inhabiting Brazil, Guiana, Paraguay, and Northeast Mexico, 

 but not extending to the northward of the Rio Grande, differs from all the American 

 species yet noticed, with the exception of the puma, by its uniform coloration. In 

 form it is characterized by its long body, short limbs, and the great length of the 

 tail, which is nearly as long as the head and body. Its general color is blackish or 

 brownish gray, but, as in so many variable species, there is a tendency to the special 

 development either of an unusually grayish or an unusually rufous tinge. The 

 total length of the cat is about four feet seven inches, of which two feet one inch 

 are occupied by the tail. The pupil of the eye is stated be round ; and the species 

 is especially characterized by the peculiar manner in which the nose is, so to speak, 

 pinched in from side to side. 



THE EYRA {Felis eyra) 



Strangest in form of all the cats is the South American eyra, which, from its 

 long body, short legs, low withers, high rump, and extremely long tail, might 

 almost be mistaken for a member of the weasel family, were it not for its relatively 

 shorter face. In size it is almost equal to a rather small domestic cat, but with 

 proportionately shorter legs. The fur is soft and of a uniform coloration, varying 

 in tint from reddish yellow to a brilliant chestnut, with the exception of a distinct 

 whitish spot on each side of the upper lip. The pupil is round, and the skull still 

 more elongated and depressed than in the jaguarondi, to which it is evidently closely 

 allied, although the nose is not so much pinched in at the sides as in that species. 



