THE EDINBURGH 



JOUKNAL OF NATURAL 



AND OF 



THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES. 



N^ 6. 



SATURDAY, JANUARY 2, 1836. 



ZOOLOGY. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATE — THE CAT TRIBE. 



The animals of this tribe have long attracted the attention and admiration of mankind 

 by their strength, magnanimity, and valour; while the extreme ferocity and cruelty 

 of some have equally rendered them objects of fear. To conquer the Nemiean lion, 

 was considered, in the earUer periods of human society, as a feat worthy of Hercules 

 himself. 



They are tolerably swift of foot, and hunt chiefly during the night. Lying in wait 

 for their prey till it comes within reach, they spring forward upon it at one bound, 

 and seize it by surprize. While eyeing their victim, they move the tail frequently from 

 side to side. In a natural state, they never adopt vegetable food, except in cases of 

 ur'rent necessity. Most of the species arc very agile in climbing trees, for wliich pur- 

 pose, the strength of their limbs and hooked claws admirably adapt them. They have 

 the remarkable property of alighting on their feet, whenever they arc thrown or fall 

 from a height, by which means the injury attendant on such accidents is often 

 averted. 



Fig. 1. The African Lion (FcUs Leo). — The Lion of Africa is usually about six feet 

 in length from the muzzle to the insertion of the tail, and his height at the shoulders 

 upwards of three feet ; the tail is more than three feet long, and terminated by a 

 tuft of blackish-brown hair. Attached to the last joint of the tail is a small dark brown 

 horny prickle, which is concealed by the hair, and surrounded at its base by an annular 

 fold of the skin. The Lion possesses a characteristic peculiarity which at once dis- 

 tinguishes him from all other species of his tribe, namely, a long and flowing mane; 

 and, except in a very young state, his fur is totally divested of spots or stripes. 



Tlie couriige of the Lion has been proverbial in all ages, yet we cannot ascribe this 

 to any innate elevation of sentiment, but to the consciousness of his own physical 

 powers. He well deserves the title of " the king of beasts," as no animal can singly 

 overcome him; and he roams at large in the boundless desert, in the extensive plains, 

 or skulks in the shades of the vast jungles of his native country. His head is pecu- 

 liarly large, his jaws have immense strength, and his shoulders and chest have a depth 

 far exceeding all other animals of his size. In his sense of smell and acuteness of 

 hearing, he is far inferior to the dog. This deficiency seems to pervade the whole 

 tribe, and appears to have been destined by Nature for hmiting, in a certain degree, 

 their means of destruction. 



Fig. 2. The Lioness and Cubs The Lioness is at once distinguished from her 



mate by the want of the mane. Being inferior both in size and strength to the Lion, 

 her make is at the same tirao more delicate, and she is more agile in her movements, 

 while she gi'catly surpasses him in the liveliness of her disposition, and the unre- 

 strained ardour of her passions. The sexes differ, in a remarkable degree, in the posi- 

 tion and direction of their heads, — that of the Lion being uniformly elevated, impress- 

 ing him with an air of dignity, while the Lioness carries her head always on a level 

 with the line of her back, giving her a sullen and ferocious aspect. In tender and 

 undivided attachment to her progeny, the Lioness is exceeded by no other animal. 

 In a tame condition, and even when brought to a state of complete gentleness, her 

 character becomes totally changed. "While suckling the young, all her native ferocity 

 seems to return with tenfold vigour. At this period she would tear to pieces the hand 

 of her keeper, while at other times she would lick it with affectionate tenderness. 



Fig. 3. The Puma CF. Concolorj. — This animal is a native of the American con- 

 tinent. The colour of its fur is uniformly of a yellow-fawn, or brownish-red ; the 

 belly is white, or of a pale cream colour. It has been designated the American Lion, 

 though destitute of a mane, or tuft at the point of its tail. It is about four feet 

 in length, and its height somewhat more than two feet. The head is round, and the 

 ears short. It inhabits the high and mountainous tracts of the United States, and is 

 common in South America. Its power is greatly beyond what might be expected 

 from its size. It leaps on the back of its victim, whom it seldom fails to vanquish, 

 frequently overcoming even the Wild Ass. Sometimes the latter contrives to free itself 

 from its assailant by Ipng down and rolling over the Puma, and thus crushing him 

 to death. 



Fig. 4. The Tiger (T. TigriaJ. — The Bengal Tiger measures six feet in length, 

 besides the tall, which is generally about three feet. There are several varieties of 

 this animal, but all of them have the black stripes on the body. 



Such is the physical strength of the Tiger, that he can run at a considerable speed 

 with the body uf a roan in his teeth ; and his general movements are more nimble than 

 those of the Lion. He is the most rapacious and destructive of all carnivorous animals. 

 With strength nearly equal to the Lion^ he is much more ferocious in disposition, 



and certainly more to be dreaded by the human species. He is a native of all the 

 countries of Southern Asia which lie between the north of China, Chinese Tartai-y, 

 and the Indies, abounding in Bengal, T^nquin, and Sumatra, and inhabiting most of 

 the larger islands on that side of India. He frequently proves the scourge of many 

 districts which are thickly covered with jungles and forests. 



Fif. 5. The Clouded Tiger (F. NchiilosusJ. — A recently discovered species, for a 

 knowledge of which we are indebted to the zeal of the late Sir T. Stamford Raffles. 

 This animal was first observed in the extensive forests of Bencoolen, and was brought 

 alive to England from Sumatra in August 1824. It was taken very young, and 

 became completely domesticated. The Clouded Tiger is equal in size to the Leopard. 

 Its o-eneral aspect, even in a state of nature, indicates loss ferocity than that of the 

 Bengal Tiser or Leopard. The character of the eyes and general physiognomy boar 

 a considerable resemblance to those of the domestic Cat. The prevaihng colour of 

 the fur is ash-coloured or whitish-gray ; it is covered with spots and bands, defined 

 posteriorly with a deep black margin. The back has most strikingly the appearance of 

 velvet on the larger discolourations. 



Fig. 6. The Leopard (F. Lcopardus). — The general expression of the Leopard 

 is ferocious and cruel ; his eye is restless, his countenance forbidding, and all his 

 motions short and precipitate. In his general habits he resembles the Panther, lying 

 in ambush for prey, and then springing upon, and devouring almost every species of 

 animal which he has strength to overcome. Occasionally Leopards have been known 

 to con'^rcatc in large numbers, and, descending from their lurking places, to commit 

 dreadful slaughter among the numerous herds of cattle which graze in the plains of 

 Senegal and Guinea. 



The ordinary size of the Leopard is four feet in length, exclusive of the tail, which 

 is about two feet. He is distinguished from the Panther by the regularity of the 

 spots which ornament his skin ; these are always disposed in circles of from three to 

 four, inclosing a central area of about an inch in extent, and of a somewhat deeper 

 hue than the general gi-ound-colour of the animal. 



Fig. 7. The Ocelot (F. Pardalis). — This animal is one of the most beautiful of 

 its tribe; it is about three feet in length, and in height about eighteen Inches. There 

 are several varieties of this species, rcmai-kable for their great beauty and elegance of 

 form, but all differing in the intensity of colouring in the fur, and also in the arrange- 

 ment of the spots. They are natives of South America, and frequent fho depths of 

 the forests, where they prey on birds and the smaller quadrupeds. The disposition of 

 the Ocelot is highly predatory, and less susceptible of the mild influence of domestica- 

 tion than most others of its congeners. 



Fig. 8. The Sumatra Cat (Felis Sumairana). — This is the Pdmau Bulu of Suma- 

 tra, about the size of the Kewuk, or somewhat less than the Ocelot. The spots on 

 its skin are very irrogidar, both in disposition and shape. 



Fig. 9. The Neuwied Cat (i^. Mucrourns). — The ground-colour of this species is 

 of an ochre-gray, with longitudinal patches, the upper part of the tail being only partly 

 annulated. It is somewhat about the size of the Ocelot, but longer in the legs. It 

 inhabits Brazil. . 



Animalcules in Skow. — Dr J. E. Mure communicated the following informa- 

 tion to Dr Silliman : — " When the winter had made considerable progress, without 

 much frost, there happened a heavy fall of snow. Apprehending that I might not 

 have an opportunity of filling my house with ice, I threw in snow, perhaps enough to 

 fill it. There was afterwards severely cold weather, and I filled the remainder with 

 ice. About August, the waste and consumption of the ice brought us down to the 

 snow, when it was discovered that a glass of water which was cooled with it contained 

 hundreds of animalcules. I then examined another glass of water out of the samo 

 pitcher, and, with the aid of a microscope, before the snow was put into it, found it 

 perfectly clear and pure ; the snow was then thrown into it, and, on solution, the 

 water again exhibited the same phenomenon — hundreds of animalcules, visible to the 

 naked eye with acute attention; and, when viewed through the microscope, resem- 

 bling most diminutive shrimps, and, wholly unlike the eels discovered in the acetous 

 acid, were seen in the full enjoyment of animated nature. I caused holes to be dug in 

 several parts of the mass of snow in the ice-house, and to the centre of it, and, in the 

 most unequivocal and repeated experiments, had similar results ; so that my family did 

 not again venture to introduce the snow into the water they drank. These little 

 animals may class with the amphibia which have cold blood, and are generally capable, 

 in a low temperature, of a torpid state of existence. Hence, their icy immersion did 

 no \'iolonce to their constitution, and the possibility of their revival by heat is wc!i 

 sustained by analogy : but their generation, their parentage, and their extraordinary 

 transmigration, are to me objects of profound astonishment." 



