276 VERTEBRATA 



molars, and clawed toes. The cats (Felidce) are repre- 

 sented in this country by the jaguar of Texas, the puma or 

 mountain lion of the western states, Adirondacks, and 

 Florida, and the bay lynx, called wildcat or catamount, 



B*IG. 313. Red foxes at the entrance to their underground home. Photographed 

 in the American Museum of Natural History. 



inhabiting the thickets of nearly all the states east of the 

 Mississippi. 



The domestic cat is thought to be a descendant of the 

 Egyptian cat (Felis caffra) widely distributed in Africa. 

 The lion and tiger, dwelling in the Old World, are the most 

 formidable of the tribe. In India the tiger is said to 

 destroy twenty thousand cattle annually. Certain indi- 



