122 THE LION. 



jesty, George IV. from Bussorah, in the ' Boyne/ 

 man-of-war, Captain Campbell, who presented them 

 to the Menagerie, then at Exeter Change. The 

 Asiatic differs from the South African lion, in heing 

 rather less in size, with the mane much more scanty, 

 and of a light yellow colour, tipt with grey, the 

 whole body being of a uniform fawn colour. The 

 head wants the width and nobleness of countenance 

 so apparent in the African species. In two young 

 preserved specimens I have in my possession, the 

 fur is as light as the general colour of the puma, 

 without any trace of the mane, or tuft at the end of 

 the tail. In this species, the animal falls off towards 

 the withers more than the African lion, the tail not 

 so delicately tapering, and the tuft at the end much 

 longer in proportion." 



The Asiatic lioness, Temminck observes, is of the 

 same pale colour with the male, but does not differ 

 much from those which are found in Barbary and 

 Senegal *. If the animals are, however, now found 

 to be distinct, the females will probably also bear 

 distinctive characters. 



These are the principal outward marks which dis- 

 tinguish what has hitherto been considered the va- 

 rieties of this formidable creature ; but we have yet 

 to notice another animal, apparently closely allied, 

 which has long remained known only by the records 

 of antiquity. Among the figures represented on the 

 hieroglyphic monuments of Upper Egypt, a lion is 

 * Monographies, p. 86. 



