MAMMALS FELIDAE FELIS. 81 



FELTS, Linn. 



Felis, LINNJEUS, Systema Naturae, I, 1735. 



4 4 



GEN. CH. Molars z ^ ; the anterior premolar very small. Tail usually as long or longer than half the body, exclusive ot 



the head and neck. 



The true cats are most readily distinguished from the lynxes, in external form, by the long 

 and tapering (sometimes tufted) tail, always as long and sometimes much longer than half the 

 body, exclusive of the head and neck. The fur is close, compact, and glossy, sometimes with 

 symmetrical patterns of coloration ; the body slender ; the ears without any pencil of hairs at the 

 tip. As stated by Keyserling and Blasius, and of pretty general application to the smaller 

 cats, the anterior process of the frontal and the posterior of the intermaxillary bones do not come 

 close together, so that the maxillary lies in direct contact with the nasal. The molars above are 

 four ; the posterior lower molar is bicuspid, its points about equal to each other ; the section 

 between the two lying in the middle of the tooth. 



At the present time there are five true cats known to occur within the limits of the United 

 States, all, indeed, inhabiting the lower Kio Grande. Of these, three are unspotted, namely : 

 F. concolor, (panther) eyra, and jaguarundi; and two spotted, the F. onpa and pardalis, 

 (jaguar and ocelot.) 



Dentition. Taking the panther or cougar (Felis concolor) as the type of the American cats, 

 the dental formula is as follows : Incisors, |^; canines,^ ; premolars, ^; molars,^ = 30. 

 The two inner incisors on each side are about equal, the innermost one a little the smallest ; 

 their crowns are wedge-shaped anteriorly, the cutting edges of all in one transverse straight 

 line, bounded by the tubercle of the exterior incisor. The edges of the lower incisors somewhat 

 similarly shaped, fit into a groove of the line of upper incisors, situated just behind their wedge- 

 like edges. The upper outer incisor is two or three times the size of the rest, and has a 

 pointed apex dipping below the plane of the others, and from this a sharp ridge extends along 

 the outer side of the tooth. The notch posterior to the lower end of the central incisors is con 

 tinued along the outer side of the tooth, just behind the sharp ridge mentioned. There is a 

 considerable space between the incisors and upper canine. The canine is slightly curved, 

 conical, except on the inside in a line with the axis of the molars, where it is more flattened 

 and bounded anteriorly and posteriorly by a sharp ridge. The exterior face exhibits no traces 

 whatever of the usual two longitudinal grooves of the Felidae. 



The first premolar is separated from the canine and second premolar, each by an interspace 

 equal to the diameter of its alveolus, or less. It is a simple tooth, with a depressed ridge, 

 having a slight central tubercle, and placed in the line of the molars and rather nearer the inner 

 edge than the outer. The second premolar has a compressed conical trenchant crown, with two 

 notches on the posterior edge, embracing between them a second distinct lobe. There is also a 

 slight serrated notch on the middle of the anterior edge, producing a single slight lobe ; this lobe, 

 however, is readily worn off, and, at any rate, is not visible without turning the tooth a little 

 round. The portion of the tooth exterior to the cutting edge, exceeds that interior to it. The 

 base of the crown posteriorly constitutes a slight rim or raised edge, bounding the small sup 

 plementary lobe described. 

 11 L 



