404 SYSTEMATIC ZOOLOGY 



tions, and is known by a variety of popular names, such as 

 American lion, catamount, panther, and painter. It is generally 

 a reddish brown in color, without markings, and may attain a 

 length of nearly a meter and a half to the root of the tail. The 

 largest and strongest American cat is the jaguar, which ranges 

 over the whole of South America except the colder regions and 

 as far northward as Texas. It is spotted like the leopard, but 

 with larger spots; there is great variation in the colors. In size 

 and strength it is surpassed by only the tiger and the lion. It 

 feeds on the large rodent, capybara, common in South America, 

 and on peccaries. It is said to be fond of monkeys, but they 

 are difficult to secure because of their agility. 



The true wild cat, Felis catus, belongs to Europe and western 

 Asia. It is probably not the ancestor of our domestic cat, Felis 

 domcstica, which is believed to be descended from the domestic 

 cat of Egypt, which was mentioned in inscriptions as early as 

 2000 B.C., and was even embalmed. There are many varieties 

 of the common cat, some of the more curious being the angora, or 

 Persian cat, and the tailless cats of the Crimea and of the Isle of 

 Man ; the latter is commonly called the Manx cat, as it appears 

 to be a native of the island. Many species of wild cats occur in 

 Asia, and several are known from Africa. In America we have 

 the ocelot, a handsome spotted cat, extending from Patagonia to 

 Arkansas; it is about seventy-five centimeters to the root of its 

 tail, and the tail itself is about half that length. The lynxes of 

 Europe and America may all be classified as varieties of a single 

 species, Felis borealis; the tufts of hairs on the tips of the ears 

 readily distinguish it. In Mexico and Southern California we 

 find the spotted lynx; throughout the United States is the red 

 lynx ; and northward the Canadian lynx, often called Lynx cana- 

 densis. Other varieties occur in Europe, Asia, and Africa. 



Suborder 2. Pinnipedia 



The Pinnipedia (Lat. pinna, fin, and pes, foot) are aquatic 

 Carnivora ; the body is more or less fish like but covered with 

 hair or with fur; the tail is extremely short, and the toes are 

 united so that the feet become paddle-like and are not adapted 

 to extensive locomotion on land; just beneath the skin is a 



