442 CARNIVORES. 



also some difference with regard to the coloration of the ear ; and the hind toes 

 lack the white colour which they possess in the bay lynx. 



THE PARDINE LYNX (Felis pardina). 



The pardine or Southern European lynx is, perhaps, the handsomest repre- 

 sentative of the entire group, its fur being distinctly spotted at all seasons of the 

 year. The colour of the body is rufous above, and white beneath ; the rounded 

 black spots occurring on the body, tail, and lirnbs. From the examination of the 

 skin alone, Professor Mivart says that he was disposed to regard this animal merely 

 as a southern spotted variety of the common lynx, analogous to the spotted and 

 banded southern varieties of the American bay lynx. An examination of the 

 skull showed, however, such differences from that of the northern lynx as to lead 

 to the conclusion that the pardine lynx was in all probability a distinct species. 



This lynx is found in Europe in Spain, Sicily, Sardinia, Greece, and Turkey. 

 Its habits are probably very similar to those of the northern species. 



Fossil remains of the pardine lynx have been found in the caves of Gibraltar 

 in company with those of the serval ; and it thus becomes a curious subject for 

 consideration why the former is now restricted to Europe, and the latter to 

 Africa. Remains referred to the common lynx have been discovered in the 

 caves of England and the Continent. 



THE HUNTING-LEOPARD (Cynoelurus jubatus). 



The hunting-leopard (unless, as some writers think, there be two species) is 

 the last representative of the Cat family, and differs so markedly in certain respects 

 from all the others that it is now generally admitted to rank as a distinct genus. 

 As already mentioned, it is generally known to Europeans as the chita (or 

 cheetah); but since this name is at least equally applicable to the true leopard, 

 its use is better avoided. 



The points on which zoologists chiefly rely in making the hunting-leopard the 

 representative of a separate genus are twofold. Firstly, and most important, 

 the claws can only be partially withdrawn into their protecting sheaths, so that 

 they always remain partly exposed. Secondly, the upper flesh-tooth consists 

 simply of a trenchant blade, without the distinct lobe found on its inner side in the 

 true cats and hyaenas. 1 While, therefore, the hunting-leopard is a more generalised 

 animal than the true cats in regard to its feet, the characters of its upper flesh-tooth 

 indicate greater specialisation, this inner lobe occurring in all the more primitive 

 types of Carnivores. 



The hunting-leopard is distinguished by the slenderness of its body, and the 

 great relative length of its limbs, which are longer than in any of the true cats, not 

 even excepting the lynxes. In length of body it may be compared with the true 

 leopard, although it stands much higher on the legs. The pupil of the eye is 

 round, the ears are small and rounded, and the fur is rather coarse, and more or 

 less lengthened on the neck and the under-parts of the body. The tail is relatively 



1 This lobe is shown in the figure of the upper flesh-tooth of a hyaena on p. 353. 



