Notes and 
Tue other fish here represented comes from 
the Eastern Hemisphere—to be 
Re i more precise, South Africa. It 
is the silver fish of the Cape 
market, one of the commonest fish at all 
seasons. Dentex argyrozona is the name by 
which it is known among scientists. 
ie 
IN connection with a paragraph on page 
The Ancestor 254 a correspondent writes :— 
of the 66 LS ; = = Tac 
Domesticatea “els chaus, which Is a species 
Cat. common to India and Africa, 
is not the ancestor of domesticated cats. 
Comments a7) 
Cat labelled ‘Felis chaus.’ I happened to 
meet the Superintendent mm the Cats’ House, 
and asked how this was, and he replied 
that the two breeds were the same. Although 
this was against my preconceived opinion, I 
thought he ought to know best, and no one 
ever objected to the Hgyptian cats being 
labelled ‘fF. chaws, for the labels remained 
on their cages till the day of their death. 
I am well aware that the true chaws cat 
approaches the Lynx group in its short 
tail and shght tufts on ears.” As the 
writer goes on to remark, it seems curious 
AMERICAN COMMON SUNFISH (EUPOMOTIS GIBBOSUS). 
Itis Fels mamculata, or correctly, according 
to modern nomenclature, Ff. lubyca.’ The 
writer of the note says he has no wish to 
contradict this statement, and that as ances- 
tor of the domestic cat (or some of them, 
for the Indian domestic cats have evidently 
other ancestors) he meant the Egyptian cat. 
“The reason,” continues the writer, “I 
called it ‘Felis chaws’ was this: Some four 
or five years back I was surprised to notice, 
in the Cats’ House at the Zoo, both the 
two Hgyptian cats and the Indian Jungle 
and not right that the nomenclature at 
the Gardens should be incorrect—especially 
in a case of this sort, where common 
animals are concerned. We always under- 
stood that the Secretary, and not the 
Superintendent, was responsible for the 
labels. We may perhaps mention here 
that there is a chapter on the Ancestors 
of the Cat (and also one on the Pedigree 
of the Dog) im the new volume of 
Zoological Essays which Mr. Lydekker is 
bringing out. 
