ORDER CARNIVORA: CARNIVORES 263 



According to Geoffrey (in Bory de Saint-Vincent, 1833, vol. 3, 

 pt. 1, zool., p. 13), the animal is very common in certain mountain- 

 ous parts of Arcadia, especially in the Canton of Karytaena and on 

 the slopes of Mount Diaphorti. It is destructive to poultry, small 

 birds and mammals, and partridges. 



The Game Department, Greek Ministry of Agriculture, reports 

 (in litt., October, 1936) a general decrease in the numbers of Wild- 

 cats in Greece. 



[The Spanish Wildcat (Felis silvestris tartessia *) inhabits the 

 Iberian Peninsula south of the Douro and the Ebro, and still 

 abounds in the wilder parts. While interbreeding with feral Domestic 

 Cats probably takes place, no evidence of it has been found. (Ca- 

 brera, 1914, pp. 205-206.) 



The Caucasian Wildcat (Felis silvestris Caucasians 2 ) occurs in 

 all the mountain forests and in the greater part of the forested 

 lowlands of the Caucasus region. It is generally reported as very 

 common. (Ognev, 1930, p. 58.) ] 



Cretan Wildcat. Chat sauvage de Crete (Fr.) 



FELIS AGRIUS Bate 



Felis ocreata agrius Bate, Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1905, pt. 2, p. 317, 1906. 

 (Type skin bought in the bazaar at Khania, Crete.) 



This species, which is confined to the island of Crete, may be in 

 danger of extinction by "dilution," consisting in this case of inter- 

 breeding with feral Domestic Cats. 



The general color is yellowish gray; no black markings on body 

 or legs, but indications of brownish shoulder stripes and dorsal 

 stripe ; tail with black tip and two or three black subterminal rings ; 

 ear blackish at tip (Miller, 1912, p. 470) . 



Raulin (1869, p. 1033) records the species from the woods of the 

 lower zones. 



"Hybrids between F. o. agrius and the domestic cat of the island 

 appear to be not uncommon, and this can easily be accounted for 

 by the fact that formerly small villages were often totally deserted 

 for a considerable time, or possibly entirely, during the insurrections 

 which occur so frequently in Crete, when the cats, as well as the 

 villagers, are forced to take to a life in the hills. Skins of these 

 hybrids, which are generally of large size like the true wild race, 

 may often be seen hanging up in the bazaars at Khania and Candia." 

 (Bate, 1906, p. 318.) 



^ Felis tartessia Miller, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 7, vol. 20, p. 397, 1907. 

 ("Coto Donana, near Jerez de la Frontera, [Huelva,] Spain.") 



2 Felis catus caucasicus Satunin, Mitteil. Kaukas. Mus., vol. 2, pts. 2-4, pp. 

 154 (Russian) and 316 (German), 1906. (Caucasus region.) 



