286 EXTINCT AND VANISHING MAMMALS 



It is distinguished by its extremely thick, long fur; ground color 

 light brownish gray ; very large spots reaching to the toes ; tail long- 

 haired and very bushy, with five half -rings (one perhaps a complete 

 ring) at the end (Hilzheimer, 1913, p. 291). (Cf. Satunin, 1909, 

 pp. 254-256.) 



"Only in the western portion of Turkestan have I met with this 

 species, and even there only on the low plains" (Severtzoff, 1876, 

 p. 49). 



This is doubtless the commonest of the large cats in Transcaspia. 

 It is distributed through the whole region on the lowlands, along 

 the river courses, and on the mountains. Each year the Turkomans 

 bring young Cheetahs for sale into the cities and military posts. 

 Training the animals for the chase is unknown to them. (Radde and 

 Walter, 1889, p. 1012.) 



The following data are from Ognev (1935, pp. 313-314) : The 

 Cheetah is found from time to time as far north as the Mangyshlak 

 Peninsula (Karelin, 1883). It inhabits the Kara Tau, the western 

 spurs of the Tian Shan, the lower Syr Darya, the Zarafshan Valley, 

 and the steppes between Zarafshan, Syr Darya, and Kizil Kum, 

 reaching an elevation of 600-1,000 feet (Severtzov, 1873). It also 

 occurs on the Amu Darya (Zarudny, 1915) and in Tajikistan. It is 

 particularly numerous along the Murgab, Tejend, and Sumbar 

 Rivers (Bilkewicz, 1918). The Caucasian Museum has specimens 

 from Merv, Kizil Arvat, and the Kopet Dagh. The Cheetah is also 

 recorded from Mazanderan, northern Persia (De Filippi) . 



About 1884 two cubs were obtained in northeastern Persia near 

 the Turbat-shaikh-jami River, a tributary of the Hari Rud (Ait- 

 chison, 1889, pp. 56-57) . 



The Cheetah is observed irregularly and in very small numbers 

 in Turkestan on the frontiers of Persia and Afghanistan. Some are 

 killed, but not every year. (W. G. Heptner, in litt., December, 1936.) 



King Cheetah; Cooper's Cheetah 



AdNONYX REX PoCOck 



Acinonyx rex Pocock, Abstr. Proc. Zool. Soc. London, no. 283, p. 18, Mar. 1, 

 1927 ("Umoukwe [=Umvukwe] Range, N.W. of Salisbury, [Southern] 

 Rhodesia"); Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1927, pt. 1, p. 250, pi. 1, April 6, 

 1927. 



FIGS.: Pocock, 1927a, pi. 1, and 19276, frontisp.; Dollman, 1929a, p. 3, fig.; 

 Maydon, 1932, pi. 103. 



The range as well as the numbers of the King Cheetah are dis- 

 tinctly limited, and special protective measures seem to be neces- 

 sary in order to insure its survival. 



It is similar in size and proportions to the Common Cheetah (A. 

 jubatus) but distinguished from it by a bold pattern of black 



