274 EXTINCT AND VANISHING MAMMALS 



Heim de Balsac (1936, p. 179) records it from the valley of the 

 Saura, near Beni-Abbes. 



Morocco. "The Lynx ... is found in wooded districts, and is 

 sometimes brought alive to Mogador" (Leared, 1876, p. 304). It 

 seems to be lacking in Yebala, but it undoubtedly exists more to 

 the south, and it is reported as still living in the interior of the 

 Rif (Cabrera, 1932, pp. 172-173) . In the Zaian district it is found 

 from time to time, and its skin is frequently seen in the market. One 

 was living in captivity as late as 1931. (Carpentier, 1932, p. 17.) 

 Specimens are recorded from Gara de Debdou, Matarka, Oued 

 Charef , region of Berguent (Laurent, 1935, p. 349) . 



Gambia. "This splendid animal is to be seen some 150 miles up 

 the [Gambia] river; being swift and cunning, very few are trapped 

 or shot" (E. Johnson, 1937, p. 63). The local form does not seem 

 to have been subspecifically determined. 



The Cheetahs (genus Acinonyx) 



These animals are also known as Hunting Leopards. Additional 

 names in various Continental languages are: Guepard (Fr.), Gep- 

 pard (Ger.), Ghepardo (It.), and Onza (Span.). 



The common species of Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) , which has 

 been divided by various authors into approximately a dozen differ- 

 ent forms, has become rather rare over a large part of its enormous 

 range in Africa and Asia, while remaining moderately common in 

 some areas. Another species, the King Cheetah (A. rex), has been 

 described from a restricted area in Southern Rhodesia. For the 

 sake of completeness, all forms that are more or less recognizable 

 will be treated in the following accounts. In scarcely any case can 

 the distributional limits of the subspecies be stated precisely, owing 

 to the incompleteness of our present knowledge. 



The Cheetahs are distinguished from all other members of the 

 cat family (Felidae) by the absence of claw-sheaths (Pocock, 1916, 

 p. 426). In size and form they suggest a long-legged and slender- 

 bodied Leopard; but their markings are solid spots instead of ro- 

 settes, as in the Leopard. The hair of the neck is elongated to form 

 a slight mane. (Lydekker, 1900, p. 328.) 



The geographical distribution of the Cheetahs as a genus is very 

 similar to that of the Lion. In Africa it includes chiefly the arid 

 or semiarid areas of the South, East, and North in fact, most of 

 the continent outside of the rain forests of the West African sub- 

 region and the humid, forested areas of southeastern Africa. In 

 Asia, likewise, it includes more or less arid areas from India and 

 Russian Turkestan to Syria, Palestine, and Arabia. 



