ORDER CARNASSIER. 475 



upon them, which, with his permission, we shall insert in 

 his own words, illustrated with engravings from his draw- 

 ings, referred to in the description : — 



" My present view of the Ocelots," says he, " is that 

 they form a subordinate group in the great family of the 

 Felinae. As a general character, I would describe them as 

 being of middle size, between the larger and the small 

 Cats, of more slender and elegant proportions, without tufts 

 on the ears, the spots diverging more or less in concatena- 

 tions or streaks from the shoulders backwards and down- 

 wards, and, as far as I have hitherto observed, the pupil of 

 the eye round. (Of this last character, however, I am still 

 very doubtful, and my doubt arises from the probability 

 that all the living specimens which I examined were, from 

 the very circumstance of attentive inspection, under a state 

 of alarm, and therefore with the pupils dilated.) They 

 belong all to the New World, but there are two or three 

 species of the Old that approach them in several particu- 

 lars, and therefore might make the next group. I shall 

 refer in the following descriptions to my drawings nume- 

 rically. My appropriation of their types to species hitherto 

 described, must, in our present state of knowledge, be con- 

 ditional only. 



" Felis Ocelot, No. 1. — Of this both the male and female 

 are rufous on the nose, face, neck, and shoulders; on the 

 back and upper part of the tail they are white, very slightly 

 tinged with reddish and gray ; on the under parts of the 

 head, throat, legs, breast, belly, and hams, there is white 

 running up the rump and sides between the streaks and 

 spots in dichotomous rows. These two colours, the rufous 

 and the white, are separated by black streaks in spotted 

 lines, forming very elongated rays, and on the rufous co- 

 lour within the rays are a few black specks. On the hams 

 and thighs there are large black blotches. The tail has 

 blotches variously figured above, and smaller spots under- 

 Vol. II. 2 K 



