Classification of existing Felidse. 34'9 



a. First upper ;)m long, conical, two-rooted; first 



loAver pm higher than second ; postorbital 

 bar complete, with slightly rounded posterior 

 margin ; condyle and angular set well behind 

 broad rounded coronoid ; tip of lower canine 



projecting high above lower edge of nares Ictailurus. 



AVithout that combination of characters b. 



b. Khinariuui very large ; ears nearly meeting on 



summit of head. Malar greatly expanded in 

 front, where it is clamped externally to preorbital 

 foramen ; cheek low ; narrow postcanine space . . LeiHailunis. 

 AVithout that combination of characters c. 



c. Outer chamber of bulla very large, extending in 



front of narrowed apex of inner chamber ; groove 

 of partition passing from stylomastoid foramen 



to basioccipital suture d. 



Outer chamber of bulla smaller or very small, not 

 extending anteriorly in front of wider end of 

 inner chamber, groove of partition passing to 

 anterior edge of bulla e. 



d. Face strongly sloped; upper rim of anterior nares 



nearly level with compressed lower rim of orbit ; 

 forehead and frontal postorbital processes very 



wide Trichcdarus. 



Face not strongly sloped ; upper rim of nares much 

 higher than thickened lower rim of orbit ; fore- 

 head narrow, postorbital processes slender Dendrailurus. 



e. Outer chamber of bulla comparatively large ; 



partition rising some distance from crest of 



tympanic annulus f. 



Outer chamber of bulla small or very small ; 

 partition rising close to crest of tympanic 

 annulus g. 



f. Nasal branch of pmx broad above behind nasal, 



then abruptly pointed ; suborbital margins of 

 palate deeply notched ^ upper ^j?«' normally 



present Felis. 



Nasal branch of pmx gradually attenuated above; 

 suborbital margins of palate not deeply notched ; 

 upper pm' absent or early deciduous Lynx. 



g. Skull short, rounded, zygomata wide, maxilla 



receding, not expanded above ; palatine foramen 

 in orbit very large, the distance between it and 

 the orbital foramen only a little greater than the 

 width of the wide, short mesopterygoid fossa and 

 than the anterior nares ; palate broad, sides of 

 its posterior elongation widely divergent; post- 

 orbital processes short, blunt ; occiput wide 

 across mastoids Pitma. 



Without that combination of characters h. 



h. Mesopterygoid fossa lanceolate in front, with very 

 thick lateral edges or large external crest ; skull 

 short, broad and high Pardofelis. 



Without that combination of characters i, 



i. External pterygoid crest reduced to a small tri- 

 angular lamina; preorbital thickening of malar 



