135 



THE BLACK PUMA. 



Felis nigra GRIFFITH. ? 

 PLATE V. 



Chat negre, El Negro, Voyages (TAzara, French edition, 

 i. p. 272.? Quadrup. del Paraguay, i. p. 154. Felis 

 nigra, The Black Cat of America, Griffith's Synopsis, 

 sp. 444. ? 



IN our uncertain knowledge of this animal, we 

 have given all the synonyms with a mark of doubt. 

 They will belong to the Gato negro of Azara, but 

 whether to the animal now represented is doubtful. 

 Azara's description of the El Negro is very short. 

 It is entirely of the colour indicated by the name. 

 Its length is about 33^ inches, without including that 

 of the tail, which is about 13. As above alluded to, the 

 animals from which the sketches for the accompanying 

 illustration were taken, were brought in a merchant 

 vessel to Greenock. There were three of them, and 

 the most striking feature to the first view of a 

 stranger, was the pale and clear greenish-blue of their 

 eyes, which contrasted finely with the deep glossy 

 black of their fur. They were extremely ferocious 

 in their dispositions, which might probably have 

 arisen from being plagued by the sailors during their 

 voyage, and from their being fed entirely upon ani- 

 mal food. 



We have next to notice 



