1906.] MAMMALS FROM THE ITURI FOREST. 993 



Felis chrysothrix, the Red Tiger-Cat or GoJden-liaired Cat, of whicli 

 the type (in the Leyden Museum) is figured by Dr. D. G. Elliot 

 ill plate XXV. of his ' Monograph of the Felidfe,' is generally 

 described as a medium-sized Cat, with the upper parts I'eddish 

 bi-own, passing into bright rufous on the flanks, marked on the 

 sides of the body with black spots ; the under parts pui-e Avhite 

 spotted with black ; and the tail reddish brown above and lighter 

 below, without either spots or bai'S. Although the two face-bais 

 so commonly developed in cats are absent, there is a, pair of dark 

 blotches above the eyes. 



Waterhouse's F. rutila, typified by an imperfect skin f I'om Sierra 

 Leone in the British Museum (PI. LXX. fig. 2), is wholly bright 

 reddish chestnut above, with indistinct darker spots on the flanks, 

 and white below with lai-ge brown spots ; the tail being nearly half 

 the length of the body, and reddish brown in colour, having a dark 

 line down the middle of the upper surface, and paler on the sides, 

 with obscure indications of dark rings. 



As to Felis celidogaster, this ajDpears to have been originally 

 described on the evidence of a specimen, supposed to have come 

 from America, purchased at the sale of Bullock's Museum. It 

 Avas, however, redescribed by Temminck f rom a Guinea specimen 

 (ill the Leyden Museum, and figured by Dr. Elliot in the plate 

 already cited), now generally accepted as the type. 



It is described as measuring 26 inches to the root of the tail, 

 while the tail itself measured 14 inches, or rather more than half 

 the length of the head and body. In colour it is grey above with 

 a reddish tinge, and spotted all over with light brown or 

 chocolate, the spots along the middle line of the back being oblong, 

 but elsewhere circular ; below it is white with large brown spots, 

 while the tail is bay-bi-own, with paler brown rings and a 

 blackish tip. Dai-k bands occur on the thi-oat and chest and 

 the inner sides of the feet. The ears are black externally. 



Gray described his Gambian F. neglecia as grey, marked on the 

 head and body with small dark spots becoming larger on the 

 flanks, and white below with large blackish spots ; the tail, which 

 is quite half the length of the body, having a dark line on the 

 upper surface, with obscure indications of rings on the paler sides. 

 One is led to wonder how this Cat could have been regarded 

 as specifically distinct from celidogaster ; although the colour 

 is brownish grey rather than grey. 



Although most subsequent writers have regarded chrysothrix 

 and celidogaster as distinct species. Dr. Elliot suggested that they 

 might more probably be considei'ed respectively as a red and a grey 

 phase of one and the same species. In his plate he figured a 

 third African Cat which he regarded as in some degi'ee inter- 

 mediate between the two. 



Turning to Major Cotton's specimen (PL LXX. fig. 1), it iscjuite 

 clear that it is a member of the chrysothrix-celidogaster group, 

 with which it accords in the general type of colouring and in 

 dimensions, the length of the head and body being approximately 



