124 CABNIVOBA FISSIPEDIA. 



and shorter head, and a thick tail which does not taper. 

 It is usually yellowish grey in color with a dark streak 

 along the back, numerous darkish stripes down the sides 

 and across the limbs, and has black rings on the tail. It is a 

 very savage animal even as a kitten, and sometimes 

 attains a length of more than three feet from tip to 

 tip. The female, who carries her young sixty-eight days, 

 makes her nest in the hollows of trees or clefts of rocks, 

 or even uses the deserted nest of some large bird." Some 

 naturalists claim that the domestic cat is descended, at 

 least in part, from this species, but the Egyptian Cat 



THE EGYPTIAN CAT. 



(Pelis-caliata), whose range extends throughout Africa 

 and also into Asia, is probably the ancestor of most of 

 the varieties of the Felis-domestica. The color of this 

 species varies from a pale red to grey, always marked 

 with more or less obscure stripes on the body and more 

 distinct ones on the hind limbs, the tail is ringed and 

 has a black tip ; it has been known by different 

 names at different times, and probably the Felis-chaus 

 of Africa really belongs to this species, as the hinder 

 parts of its feet are sometimes black. 



