FELIS. 83 



It is doubtful whether Jerdon's information as to this cat not living 

 in jungles is correct, for Holdsvvorth found it inhabiting forests 

 in Ceylon. Sterndale had two young kittens at Seoni and fully 

 confirms Jerdon's account of their being easily tamed, exceedingly 

 graceful and agile. A young village cat which, after one of the 

 pair died, he obtained as a companion to the survivor, was far 

 inferior in activity and in its power of climbing. 



Another cat that has been procured from the Malay Peninsula, 

 Sumatra, and Borneo, and which, although not hitherto recorded 

 from any locality further north than Province Wellesley, may 

 possibly be found to extend into the southern portion of the 

 Tenasserim Provinces, is F. planiceps, Vigors. The following de- 

 scription will enable this species to be recognized : 



F. planiceps. About the size of a domestic cat. Tail short, a 

 quarter to a third the length of the head and body. Orbits com- 

 pletely enclosed by bone, and the anterior upper premolar larger 

 and better developed than in any other living cat, having two roots. 

 Colour dark rich red-brown above, the fur having a silvery speckled 

 appearance, owing to an intermixture of hairs with white tips ; 

 below white, more or less spotted or splashed with brown. 



38. Felis manul. Pallas's Cat. 



Felis manul, Pallas, Raise Euss. Heichs, iii, p. 692 (1776) ; Elliot, 



Man. Fel. pi. x. 

 Felis nigripectus, Hodgs. J. A. S. E. xi, p. 276, with plate (1842). 



Size of a domestic cat. Fur soft, long and very thick. Ears 

 short and rounded. Tail very thick, bushy, cylindrical, about half 

 the length of the head and body. 



The skull is of very peculiar shape, being remarkably broad for 

 its length everywhere. The orbits, too, are directed forward more 

 than in any other cat. The upper surface of the skull is highly 

 convex. The muzzle is broad, the nasals of moderate size, slightly 

 concave on the outer margins. The teeth are well developed, the 

 inner lobe of the flesh-tooth very small, and in the only skull I have 

 examined the anterior upper premolar was wanting on both sides. 



Colour. Silvery grey to yellowish buff, with a silvery wash above, 

 darker on the back ; breast brown, remainder of lower parts white. 

 Fur brown at the base, then buffer grey ; ends of long hairs white 

 with black tips on the back. Across the loins are a few more or 

 less distinct black transverse stripes, narrow and far apart, and on 

 the tail are 6 or 7 nearly equidistant narrow black rings and a 

 black tip. In some specimens, too, there are a few black transverse 

 stripes on the limbs. The head is spotted above, and there are the 

 usual two dark horizontal stripes across each cheek. 



Dimensions. Head and body of a male 18| inches, tail 8|, height 

 9, length of ear 1^ (Hodgson, MS.). A skull measures in basal 

 length 3 inches, breadth across zygomatic arches 2-8. Weight 

 according to Pallas 6 to 74 Ibs. 



