ALLEN: mammalia: felid/G. 185 



measurements of his Santa Cruz specimen, reduced to millimeters as 

 follows: Length from nose to root of tail, 660; length from nose to base 

 of ear, 89; length of tail (fur included), 279; length of ear, 26.3; height 

 of body at shoulders, 330. 



Skull: (No. 16695, Rio Gallegos; Barnum Brown). Total length, 

 109; basal length, 98; palatal length, 40; length of nasals, 25; breadth 

 of nasals, anterior, 14, posterior, 6; zygomatic breadth, 79; mastoid 

 breadth, 50; postorbital breadth, 29; greatest breadth of brain case, 41 ; 

 breadth at base of canines, 29; upper toothrow (molar-premolar series, 

 first premolar lacking), 20.3; length of p.i i L5 ; breadth at deuterocone, 

 5 ; m.-^, length, 2, breadth, 4 ; lower jaw, length, 69.5 ; height at condyle, 

 14; height at coronoid, 3L5; depth at m.^, 31 ; length of toothrow, 22. 

 In this skull there is no trace of p.^ on either side, nor any indication of 

 its former presence. 



General History. — As shown by the references given above, the 

 Pampa Cat was first described by Azara in 1801, under the vernacular 

 name Le Chat Pampa. His description was the basis, in 1816, of two 

 specific names, bntuncus of Oken and pajcros of Desmarest. As it is 

 doubtless impossible to determine which name was published first, and as 

 the name pajcros has always been current and bynuneiis has almost 

 escaped notice, the propriety of retaining the name pajcros as the specific 

 name of the group is evident. 



Mr. Brown informs me that this specimen was the only one he met 

 with during his explorations in Patagonia. He states that it is very rare, 

 being almost unknown to the residents of that country. Neither was it 

 met by Mr. Hatcher during his three years work in Patagonia, nor is it 

 mentioned by Prichard. 



This form of the Pampa Cat was first described by Watcrhouse in the 

 " Zoology of the Beagle" (/. c.) who speaks of it as being remarkable for 

 the length of the fur, and especially for the crest of elongated hair along 

 the median line of the back. This crest is not mentioned in his descrip- 

 tion, nor is it shown in the colored plate. He says the animal is variable 

 in markings and in the intensity of coloration. The specimen described 

 by Mr. Waterhouse, became, in 1901, the type of Mr. Thomas's Felis 

 pajcros criicina. 



Darwin, in his notes on this species, as published by Waterhouse, says : 

 "This animal takes its name from 'paja', the Spanish word for straw. 



