56 FELIDJi. 



b'. Brownish grey or tawny, with large 

 irregular blotches or irregular black 

 bands. 

 a". Total length from nose to tail-tip over 



5 feet in adults F. nebutosa, p. 72. 



b". Total length under 5 feet F. marmorata, p. 74. 



e. Uniformly coloured or with more or less 

 indistinct transverse bands; size moderate 

 or small. 

 a'. Chestnut (rarely dark brown) above; 



tail whitish below F. temmincki, p. 75. 



b'. Silvery grey or buff'; fur long, thick, 



and soft F. manul, p. 83. 



c'. Tawny or grey. 



a". Tail less than one third of total 



length F. chaiis, p. 86. 



b". Tail about one third of total length ; 



transverse bands much more distinct F. torquata, p. 85. 

 B. Ears long, pointed, with a pencil of hair 

 exceeding half an inch in length at the end. 



a. Tail about one fourth of total length .... F. caracal, p. 88. 



b. Tail less than one fifth of total length F. lyni; p. 89. 



28. Felis leo. The Lion. 



Frfiis leo, L. Syst. Nat. i, p. 60 (1766) ; Blyth, Cat. p. 53 ; id. P. Z. S. 

 1863, p. 182; Jerdon, Mam. p. 91; I>. O. Elliot, Mon. Felidce, 

 pi. i. 



Sher, Babar-sher, Singrh, Hindi; Untia-bdyh (Camel-tiger), Guzerati; 

 Sdivach, Katty war ; Shinyal, Bengali ; Suh or Suh <$ , Siminy $ , Kash- 

 miri ; Rastar, Brahui. 



Pupil round. A heavy mane of long hair (varying in length 

 however) all round the neck and on the sides and crown of the 

 head in adult males only. Tail about half the length of the head 

 and body, well tufted at the end, a small horny point at the tip, 

 surrounded by the tuft. Caudal vertebrae 24 or 25. 



The skull of a lion is thick, heavy, and massive, with a broad 

 zygoraatic arch and well-marked sagittal and occipital crests. The 

 superior surface is remarkable for its flatness ; the postorbital 

 processes, too, are very nearly in the same plane as the forehead. 

 The posterior termination of the maxillary bones on the face 

 between the orbits is opposite the end of the nasals. The exposed 

 portion of the presphenoid bone in the inesopterygoid fossa is very 

 narrow, and usually flat. The lower edge of the mandible is 

 convex, owing to a small projection below the hindmost lowest 

 molar. In all these characters the skull of a tigor differs. 



Colour. Tawny (pale yellowish brown) everywhere, except the 

 black tail-tuft and the outside of the ears, which are black towards 

 the base, but not at the tip ; the hairs of the mane in the prime of 

 life are also more or less black-tipped. Young cubs are marked 

 with darker spots or irregular bands, and faint spots may often be 

 seen on the belly and sides of almost adult or even adult animals, 

 especially females. 



