Spotted Cats of Asia and its Islands. 53 



pardichrous of Hodgson, F. icagati of Elliot, F. nipaleiisis of 

 Vigors aud Horsfield, Leopardus EUioti^ L. chinensis, L. 

 Beevesli, and Chaus servalinus of Gray as all varieties of one 

 species, Avliieli he calls F. bengalensis, Desmarest, and F. 

 miniita^ Temminck ; and lie considei's Felis Jerdoni a distinct 

 species. 1 may observe that Leopardus Ellioti^ differing from 

 the other species by its skull (which has a complete orbit), 

 belongs to the genus ViverricepSj and is therefore out of the 

 question. 



Mr, Daniel Elliot is of opinion that Felis Jerdoni^ Blyth, 

 is only a variety of Felis rubiginosa (P. Z, S. 1871, p. 760). 

 It has not the long head of a Viverriceps^ to ■which F. rubi- 

 ginosa belongs, and is much more likely to be a variety of 

 F. minufa, which I considered it in the 'List of Mammalia,' 

 1842, p. 43. He also decides that Felis pardinoides, re- 

 ceived from the Zoological Society as coming from India, 

 is the young of F. Geoffroyi from the pampas of South 

 America (P. Z. S. 1872J p. 203) ; but we have the skull of 

 this cat (which Mr. Elliot could not have observed, though it 

 is mentioned in the Catalogue), which shows that it entirely 

 differs from the skull of Fardalina Warwichii, which he 

 considers the same as Felis Geoffroyi^ or from D'Orbigny's 

 figure of the skull which appears to belong to the genus 

 Fardalina. 



I will not vouch for the distinctness of all the species I have 

 entered in the ' Catalogue of Carnivora in the British Museum ; ' 

 for the progress of science, aided by the collection of more 

 specimens and the study of their changes, may prove some of 

 them to be only varieties of others ; but they appear, accord- 

 ing to our present knowledge of the specimens and their 

 distribution, to be worthy of being reckoned as distinct 

 species. 



The specimens in the Museum may be arranged tlius : — 



I. Tail cylindrical, shorter than the body, and marhed with black 

 spots. The body with suhequal spots, sometimes united on the 

 dorsal line. 



a. Tli£ body with a multitude of small spots — those on the shoulders 

 and outside of the limbs being the largest, those on the middle 

 of the back between the haunches and, especially, between the 

 shoulders being united into four or six narrow lines. China 

 and Siberia. 



Felis chinensiSf Gray, Cat. Camiv. p. 27. no. 22. 

 Hah. China (Reaves). B.M. 



