1923] GrinneU-Dixon: The California Mountain Lion 327 



ment of phylogenetic characters (those of real systematic value) from 

 the products of age and sex variation so generally confused with the 

 phylogenetic characters by some other writers on the Felidae. 



It was Mr. Gerrit S. Miller who discovered that there is an old 

 name available for the California Mountain Lion. In the "Addenda" 

 to his List of North American Land Mammals in the United States 

 National Museum, 1911 (1912, p. 400) he writes: 



Page 117, in synonymy of Felis oregonensis oregonensis Rafinesque, insert: 

 1896. 1 Felis calif ornica May, California Game ' ' marked down, ' ' p. 22. 

 (Kern County, California.) 



We have had opportunity of examining a copy of the publication 

 in question, which was issued for advertising purposes by the Southern 

 Pacific Company. In response to an inquiry, Mr. Chas. S. Fee, 

 Passenger Traffic Manager of the Southern Pacific Railroad, wrote 

 us under date December 15, 1919, that he believed the author to be 

 Dr. Wm. B. May, who in 1896 was employed in the advertising de- 

 partment of the Southern Pacific Company. 



Someone is likely to question the propriety of using a name printed 

 so casually, and unaccompanied by any characterization such as would 

 link it up definitely with the subspecies in question. In answer, we 

 would point out the following facts. 



On page 22 of the pamphlet cited there appears a half-tone photo- 

 graph (58 X 91 mm.) of a mounted specimen of mountain lion. 

 Beneath this half-tone is the caption : 



California Lion. 

 Felis Californica. 



This photograph and caption fall within a section (pp. 20-25) 

 headed "Kern County." On page 21 we read: "The mountain 

 district furnishes ideal haunts for bear — grizzly and black, brown and 

 cinnamon, with California lions and other feline beasts of prey, not 

 to mention wolves and coyotes." The specimen photographed was 

 probably destroyed in the San Francisco fire of 1906. 



Thus, a binomial name for the mountain lion which inhabits the 

 Sierra Nevada of California has been published (in the noraenclatural 

 sense) ; and our present view is that this name must be employed for 

 the subspecies we here characterize. 



