90 U. 8. P. R. R. EXP. AND SURVEYS ZOOLOGY GENERAL REPORT. 



LYNX RUFUS. 



American Wild Cat. 



FtKt ruffa, GDLDENSTAEDT, Nov. Coram. Petrop, XX, 1776, 499. 



Fell* ntTa, SCHREBER, Saugt. HI. 1778, 412; pi. cix A (Rothluchs in text). 



SHAW, Gen. Zool. I, 1800, 373, (from Pennant.) 



DESK. Mam. I, 1820, 225. 



HARLAN, F. Am. 1825, 99. 



TEMM. Mon. Mamm. I. 1827, 141. 



SMITH, in Griff. CUT. V, 1827, 150. 



F. CUT. Suppl. Buff. I, Mamm. 1831, 463. 



WAGNER, Suppl. Schreb. II, 1841. 

 Lynx rttfui, RAF. Am. Month. Mag. II, 1817, 46. 



ADD. & BACH. N. A. Quad. I, 1849, 2; pi. i. 

 Lyneus rvfus, DEKAY, N. Y. Zool. I, 1842, 51; pi. x, f. 1. 

 Lynx montanw, RAF. Am. Month. Mag. II, 1817, 46, (Catskills.) 

 Felis montanus, HARLAN, F. A. 1825, 101. 



LECONTE, Pr. A. N. Sc. Ph. VII, Jan. 1854, 9. 

 Lynx floridanus, RAF. Am. Month. Mag. II, 1817, 46. 



Buy Cat, PENH. Syn. 1771, 188; pi. lii, f. 1. IB. Hist. Quad. 1781, no. 171; Arctic Zool. I, 1784, 51 

 .Mown/am Cat. Penn. Hist. Quad. 1781, no. 168. IB. Arctic Zool. I, 1784, 51. 

 .'Lynx, Penn. Hist. Quad. 1781, no. 170. IB. Arctic Zool. I, 1784, 50. 



Sp. CH. Fur moderately full and soft. Above and on sides pale rufous, overlaid with grayish; the latter color most preva 

 lent in winter. A few obsolete dark spots on the sides and indistinct longitudinal lines along the middle of the back. Collar 

 on the throat like sides, but much paler. Beneath, white spotted. Inside of fore and hind legs banded. Tail with a small 

 black patch above at the end, with indistinct subterminal half rings. Inner surface of ear black, with a white patch. 



Winter dress. Yellowish ash, with a rufous tinge ; the soft woolly hair yellowish at "base, 

 then light brown ; the terminal and longest portion pale chestnut brown. The long stiff hairs 

 are annulated with black and grayish white, the latter color being broadly subterminal and 

 causing the general tinge of the outer plumage. Nearly all these hairs are, however, tipped 

 more or less with black. Scattered through the color of the back and sides, as indicated, are 

 some very indistinct blotches of dusky ; while along the middle of the back are some equally 

 obsolete short lines of the same. The outside of the limbs is like the back, with the blotches, 

 however, rather more distinct. The under parts are yellowish white, with a slight tinge of 

 pale chestnut across the throat ; the belly is blotched rather largely with dark brown, while the 

 in-Mrs of the legs are transversely barred at their upper part with the same. There are a good 

 many indistinct longitudinal narrow lines of dusky on the crown ; more distinct lines pass 

 through the series of whiskers, and others commencing under the eye extend backwards on the 

 cheeks, widening and more distinct in the ruff. The ears are black, externally, with a large 

 central patch of grayish white. The tail is white beneath, and at the extreme tip ; above, it is 

 like the back, with a square black patch at the end, and several transverse narrow bars of the 

 same. The square black patch at the tip is quite limited, not amounting to more than three 

 quarters of an inch in either dimension. 



In summer the grayish tips to the hairs are less distinct, and a more reddish tint is then 

 evident. The fur is also shorter and thinner. 



These specimens agree very well with each other, the fur of 169 being much softer than the 

 rest, but still inferior to that of Lynx fasciatus. Specimens from California differ in some points 

 as follows : 



AYo Bodega, Cal. 9. Hair coarser, stiffer, rather shorter ; larger part of back darker, and 

 brownish rusty ; sides gray ; line of demarcation distinct. In No. 245 colors more blended. 



