TRUE OCELOT. 117 



cats ; of more slender and elegant proportions^ without 

 tufts on the ears ; the spots diverging more or less in 

 concatenations or streaks from the shoulders backwards 

 and downwards ; and, as far as I have hitherto ob- 

 served, the pupil of the eye is round. They belong 

 to the New World ; but there are two or three spe- 

 cies of the Old, that approach them in several parti- 

 culars, and therefore might make the next group."* 

 After enumerating with great precision the external 

 markings of four differently coloured ocelots, our author 

 thus concludes : — " AVhether these are specifically dif- 

 ferent, or hereditary varieties, I do not mean to deter- 

 mine ; but, from the number of specimens of each that 

 have fallen under my observation, there seems little 

 doubt that one of the alternatives is correct, and that the 

 several figures are not mere individual (hfferences." 



The true ocelot, according to these views, and to 

 "which the original Linnican name of Pardalis is retained, 

 is very rare, since only two specimens have been seen 

 by major Smith ; one of these was formerly in Bul- 

 lock's Museum, and was supposed to come from Southern 

 Mexico or Honduras. This is considered to be one of 

 the animals mistaken by Buffon, and by the famous 

 compiler Dr. Shaw, for the American jaguar. 



The colour on the nose is fulvous ; and this tint 

 spreads over the forehead, shoulders, fore- arm, back, 

 rump, and paws : the temples are ochrey, and the 

 rest of the animal white. There are no black streaks 

 on the forehead ; but a number of small round spots 

 cover the whole surface, and two broken streaks run 

 from the outer angle of the eye to below the ear : on 

 the shoulders and flanks there are four or five long, 

 open, fulvous spots, bordered with a chain of black : on 

 the rest of the body, back, and hams there are small 

 open spots : the tail is annrdated, and the tip black : on 

 the fore legs and the lower part of the hind legs aie 

 small black spots. 



These characters we shall condense in the following 



* Griff. Cuv. 



I 3 



