750 MANUAL OF ZOOLOGY. 



and all the living species may be considered as belonging to 

 the single genus Felis. The species of Fdid<z are found all 

 over the world, except in Australia, New Zealand, the Malayan 

 Archipelago east of " Wallace's line," and the Antilles. 



l^g' 437- Side-view of the skull of the Lion (Felis leo). '- 



The Lion (Felis leo) is too well known to require much special notice. 

 Its colour is always uniform, generally a yellowish or reddish brown. The 

 tail is terminated by a tuft of long hairs, and the male is usually furnished 

 with a mane, which is very short, however, in an Indian variety. The 

 Lion is exclusively confined to the Old World, and is an inhabitant of 

 Africa and the south-western parts of Asia. It is doubtful how far any 

 valid species of Lions have as yet been established. The Lions are all 

 nocturnal, and capture their prey by suddenly leaping upon it. They are 

 by no means the generous and courageous animals they are generally con- 

 sidered to be; but, on the contrary, are cruel, cunning, and cowardly. 

 They are enormously strong, and it is said that a full-grown Lion can run, 

 and even leap, though carrying an ox in its jaws. Though now much 

 restricted in its range, the Lion had formerly a much more extensive dis- 

 tribution, a form considerably larger than the modern species having 

 formerly existed in Europe, and even in Britain (Felis spelcea). High 

 authorities, however, doubt if the " Cave - lion " is specifically separable 

 from the existing Felis leo. 



In the Tigers (Felis tigris\ the tail is without a tuft of hairs at its ex- 

 tremity, and the skin is marked with stripes or spots. The Royal or 

 Bengal Tiger is a native of southern Asia, but occurs also in Java, Borneo, 

 and Sumatra. The skin is reddish yellow, marked with numerous trans- 

 verse black stripes. It is a large and powerful animal, and upon the whole, 

 is probably a more dangerous opponent than even the Lion. 



Of the large Spotted Cats, the largest is the Jaguar (Felis onca), which 

 inhabits South America and the southern parts of North America. It is a 

 very large and powerful animal, said to be able to carry a bullock without 

 difficulty, and it can both swim and climb with great facility. Another 

 American species is the Puma (Felis concolor], in which the colour is uni- 

 formly reddish brown. It is exclusively confined to America, and though 

 of large size it is a very cowardly animal, and is seldom known to attack 

 man. 



The Leopard or Panther (Felis pardus} is another well-known species, 



