1907.] MR. R. I. POCOCK ON PALLAS's CAT. 303 



into black towards the head and with a darker rim ; hair.s on the 

 inner side and in front of the ears whitish grey. Prevailing hue 

 of the dorsal area of the neck and body silveiy- or iron-grey, the 

 hairs sooty black basally, then white with a black tip *. Laterally 

 the dark-tinted basal portion of the hairs is paler in hue and less 

 in extent, the greater portion of the hair below the white sub- 

 apical band being whitish and strongly or faintly tinged with buff, 

 the buff tint showing up strongly when the hairs are parted. On 

 the lower side of the body the hairs have no black tint and the 

 buff tint disappears, leaving the belly and chest white but for a 

 clouding of blackish blotches on the chest behind and between the 

 fore legs. On the lumbar and sacral regions of the back there are 

 traces, mostly very faint, of narrow transverse black stripes. 

 The largest and most distinct of these lies about midway between 

 the shoulder and the root of the tail ; on the right side it 

 measures about 57 mm., on the left about 50, the two being 

 separated by a median area of about 20 mm. This is the only 

 stripe that is evident on the right side. On the left side there is 

 one short stripe in front of it, and two abbreviated stripes behind 

 it, one low down on the side, the other higher up and just 

 traceable to the middle line. Behind this there are, on the 

 middle line of the back, three faint transverse blackish blotches, 

 probably representing the dorsal end of stripes. The tail is 

 greyer and paler than the back ; in its distal half there are three 

 well-marked black stripes, narrow dorsally and laterally, but 

 expanding and forming a triangular patch inferiorly where they 

 meet. The last stripe fuses laterally and inferioi-ly with the 

 terminal black tip ; and since the expanded ai^eas of the other 

 stripes are only separated by the narrowest intervals, it follows 

 that the distal half of the tail is practically black below. The 

 proximal half of the tail is marked above with three narrow 

 indistinct stripes, which, however, widen and become much more 

 .strongly defined below. Fore leg whitish grey turning to creamy 

 bufi* on the paws ; the brachial stripe distinct : other stripes 

 represented by blackish patches. Hind legs with thighs grey 

 like the body, and indistinctly spotted ; front of the leg greyish, 

 turning to pale buff on the paws ; back of the leg up to the 

 hock rusty cream, a black patch on each side of the j)aw above 

 the median pad. 



Measurement of dressed and flat skin : — Head and body 20 inches 

 ( = 500 mm.), tail 9 inches ( = 225 mm.). 



It is noticeable that the hair of the ventral surface, both on 

 the throat, chest, belly, and thighs, is considerably longer than on 

 the dorsal and lateral surfaces of the body. On the spinal region 

 it measures about 23 mm., and on the belly about 43 mm. The 

 coating of long hairs below is perhaps an adaptation to life in 



* Satunin {op. cit. p. 497) says that the hairs on the back and sides have white tips. 

 Did he overlook the slender black tip ? 



21* 



