August 2, 1897.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



181 



two handsome volumes containing a detailed account of Sir : 

 Archibald Geikie's researches in this branch of knowledge." 

 What we have said only conveys a feeble impression of 

 the monumental work this gifted author has bequeathed 

 to scientific literature — a work characterized by an evident 

 desire to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but 

 the truth ; a work entirely free from aggressiveness— 

 without the shadow of an attempt to encroach on the 

 credulous by enunciating theories fabricated from " the 

 stuff that dreams are made of." Maps, photographs, 

 drawings, and all that can contribute to give a clear I 

 presentment of fact have been called in as auxiliaries, and 

 the total result is indeed gratifying. We must express 

 our indebtedness to the pubUshers of these volumes for 

 allowing us to reproduce the accompanying illustrations, j 



J. M. 



THE PEDIGREE OF THE CAT. 



By R. Lydekker, B.A., F.E.S. 



IN the article on " The Origin of Some of our Domestic 

 Animals " which appeared in the February issue of 

 this journal, it was stated that want of space 

 precluded any allusion to the ancestry of domestic 

 cats and the various breeds of dogs. And, indeed, 

 to treat adequately of the pedigree of even one of these 

 groups would demand a space at least equal to that 

 contained in a whole number of Knowledge. As this is 

 obviously impossible, all that can be attempted in the 

 present communication is to bring to notice some of the 

 facts and theories bearing on the pedigree of the domestic 

 cat. 



Although it is a common notion that our ordinary 

 "tabby "is the du-ect descendant of the European wild 

 cat (Felis catus), now so nearly exterminated in Britain, 

 the best modern authorities are of opinion that the real 

 ancestor is a wild species inhabiting North-Eastern Africa, 

 and commonly known as the KaiSr cat {Fi'lis Carf'ra*) ; a 

 reputed variety of the same species bemg stated to inhabit 

 parts of Southern Europe. The facility with which several 

 of the smaller species of wild cats will breed together, and 

 likewise the circumstance that the domesticated cats of 

 Asia apparently have an origin distinct from that of the 

 European breeds, renders the subject one of more difficulty 

 than might at first seem to be the case. Moreover, the 

 elaborate investigations lately undertaken by Dr. E. 

 Hamilton into the natural history of the European wild 

 cat tend to show that at least a considerable proportion of 

 the existing representatives of that species have been 

 largely crossed with the domestic race. And it is con- 

 sequently somewhat difficult to determine what are the 

 distinctive features of the pure-bred wild cat. 



With regard to the differences between the domestic 

 and the wild cat, it has been generally asserted that the 

 latter is considerably the larger animal of the two, although 

 the comparisons made by Dr. IlamUton indicate that this 

 is not reaUy the case. The statement that the tail of the 

 wUd species is shorter and stouter seems largely due to the 

 circumstance that the fur is more abundant and bushy, 

 so that the tail of the domestic breed appears longer and 

 more slender ; but, on the whole, it seems that in domestic 

 cats the tail does differ to a certain extent in this respect 

 from that of the pure-bred wild animal, although, as Dr. 

 Hamilton remarks, individuals of the domestic races are 

 sometimes met with which exhibit scarcely any difference 



• The African cat named Felis maniculata does not seem speci- 

 fically distinct, and F. caligata is clearly a synonym. 



in this respect from the wild cat. Obviously, then, the 

 tail — on which so much stress has been laid — is not a 

 matter of very much importance in the inquiry. With 

 regard to the general coloration of the fur, although both 

 the wild cat and a large number of individuals of the old 

 European domestic breed are of what is commonly known 

 as the "tabby " type, the markings of pure-bred specimens 

 of the former are stated to present certain differences from 

 those of the latter, and are described as being more tiger- 

 like. Then, too, the dark rings on the tail of the wild 

 cat, according to Dr. Hamilton, appear blackish brown 

 when held against the light, whereas those of the domestic 

 " tabby " are jetty black. 



Perhaps the most important point in which domestic 

 cats differ from the pure-bred wild cat, and thereby 

 resemble the Kaffir cat, is in the coloration of the hind 

 foot. Dr. A. Nehring, of Berlin, who brought the fact to 

 notice, states that in the Egyptian animal the pads on the 

 under surface of the toes are black, this colour extending 

 upwards on the foot as far as the heel-bone, the under 

 surface of this part of the limb being in some cases wholly 

 black, but in others marked with black stripes on a lighter 

 ground. On the other hand, the pure-bred wild cat has 

 only a small black spot on the pads, while the colour of 

 the fur on the under surface of the foot as far up as the heel- 

 bone is some shade of yellow or yellowish grey. Since 

 all European domesticated cats — except, of course, those 

 which are wholly black or white — agree with the former 

 type of coloration, there seems full justification for regard- 

 ing them as the descendants of the African Kaffir cat. 

 Moreover, the tail of the latter is distinctly longer and less 

 bushy than that of the wUd cat, and thus more like that 

 of the domestic breeds. Additional evidence in favour of 

 the southern origin of our domestic breeds has lately been 

 fui-nished by Dr. G. Martorelli, of Milan, who has described 

 two European wild cats, the one from Sardinia and the 

 other from the Tuscan Maremma. These are stated to be 

 very different from the ordinary wild cat, and to approxi- 

 mate to the Kaffir cat, of which they are regarded as 

 forming a race or variety, under the name of the Medi- 

 terranean cat (F. Meditfrranca). As these cats present 

 considerable resemblances to domestic breeds, there can 

 be little hesitation in accepting the view that, so far as 

 Europe is concerned, the latter were originally derived from 

 the Kaffir cat. 



But Prof. Martorelli goes one step further than this, and 

 suggests that the European wild cat, through the inter- 

 vention of the Mediterranean race, is likewise descended 

 from the Kaffir cat. Curiously enough. Dr. Hamilton, 

 from the circumstance that certain fossil remains found in 

 Belgium and England seemed to belong to F. catfra rather 

 than F. catus, had previously hazarded the conjecture 

 " that the European wild cat and the Egyptian domestic 

 cat are derived from one common ancestor." 



Although it is going a little out of the way, it may be 

 mentioned here that, in the opinion of Prof. Martorelli, the 

 Kaffir cat has given rise to another hue of descendants. 

 The first species on this line is the jungle cat {F. chaus) 

 of India and Africa, while the second place is occupied by 

 the various species of lynxes, between which and the 

 Kaffir cat the jungle cat forms a connecting link. From 

 a side branch of this line the steppe cat [F. caudata) of 

 Bokhara is considered to have sprung. 



Returning to the domestic cat of Europe, it may be 

 mentioned that the animal termed ailums by the ancient 

 Greeks, and kept by them in a domestic state, was not 

 really a cat, although the word is so rendered in our trans- 

 lations of the classics. On the contrary, it appears from 

 the researches of the late Prof. RoUeston, of Oxford, to 



