1902.] MR. n. PRICHARD ON PATAGOXIAN MAMMALS. 27.5 



from any known species. Mi'. J. G. Millais, on examining the 

 skin, agreed with me, and pointed out that it possessed several 

 characteristics which do not occur in Felis concolor pttma. I took 

 the skin to the Natural History Museum, where Mr. Oldfield 

 Thomas came to the conclusion that the animal was a sub-species 

 of Felis concolor pttma, and named it Felis concolor pearsoni. 



The chief points of difference between Felis concolor puma and 

 Felis concolor pearsoni are as follows : — The very different general 

 colour of Felis concolor pearsoni, being reddish fawn instead of 

 silver-grey ; the proportionately very short tail ; light instead of 

 dai'k colour on the backs of the ears, which are, moreover, more 

 shai'ply pointed in the case of Felis concolor pearsoni ; and the 

 absence of dark markings roiind the digital pads. 



Sevei-al Gauchos, settlers, and Indians infoi'med me that there 

 were two kinds of Puma in Patagonia, one being very common, 

 grey in colour, and very cowardly. The other they described as 

 rai-e, much fiercer, of a reddish colour, and somewhat smaller than 

 the grey common species. Among the 73 Pumas killed by the 

 English pioneers near Lake Argentine, one, Mr. Cattle told me, 

 differed very much from the ordinary Puma, and, judging from 

 the description he gave of it, I have no hesitation in concluding 

 that it was a specimen of Felis concolor pearsoni. 



4. The Guanaco. {Lama huanachus.) 



(Uitanaco of settlers, Argentines, and Chilians ; JRou of 

 Tehuelches.) 



During the whole course of our ti-avels in Patagonia (save 

 when in the forests) a day rarely passed without our seeing 

 Guanacos. They may be met within a few hours' ride of any 

 settlement. The range of the Guanaco extends all over the 

 plains of Patagonia. In my experience they were most numerous 

 in the Caiiadon Davis, in the neighbourhood of Bahia Camerones, 

 and on the high basaltic tablelands to the south of Lake Buenos 

 Aires. At the base of the Cordillera, and in some of the river- 

 valleys under the edge of the mountains, the range of the 

 Guanaco crosses that of the Huemul. I do not think, however, 

 that the Guanaco ever enters the forest : although I have seen 

 them in the open patches amongst the lower wooded parts of the 

 Cordillera. As the seasons change they move from lower to 

 higher ground, but these migrations are limited ; and a white 

 Guanaco has been observed year after year in the same neigh- 

 boui'hood. During the time I spent at Lake Argentine — from 

 1st February to 15th May — I saw but few of these animals, for 

 at that season all the herds migrate to the high pampa. A 

 herd 300 or 400 strong inhabited the higher plateaus of Mount 

 Frias. 



FitzRoy, in his "Voyages of the 'Adventure' and the 'Beagle,' " 

 writes : — 



" Do the Guanacos approach the river to drink when they are 



