50 W. T. Blanford — Description of Felis Shawiana. [JSJo. 1, 



Mr. Shaw, to whom we are so largely indebted for our knowledge of 

 Yarkand and Kashghar. 



Felis Shawiana, sp. nov. 



Felis F. domesticarn magnitudine superans, ad F. chaus proxime acce- 

 dens ; griseo-fulva, nigro-inaculata, suhtus alba atque maculis nigris majo- 

 o'ibus ornata ; caudd breviuscnld, supra, apicem versus, nee infra, nigro- 

 transfasciatd ; cranio elongato, ei F. viverrinae simili ; vellere molli, basin 

 versus pallide purpurascenti-griseo : longitudine (sc. pellis) sine caudd 

 bipedali, caudos 7 — 8 unc, cranii 4.25. 



Hab. — Eastern Turkestan, in the plains around Yarkand and Kashghar. 



Description. — General colour pale greyish fulvous above, the back 

 rather darker than the sides, underparts white ; the body marked throtighout 

 with rather small black spots, which are largest on the abdomen, smaller 

 and closer together on the shoulders and thighs, tending to form cross lines 

 on the latter, and indistinct on the middle of the back ; anterior portion of 

 the face and muzzle whitish, cheek stripes of rusty red and black hairs 

 mixed. Ears rather more rufous outside, especially towards the tip, which is 

 blackish brown, and pointed, the hairs at the end scarcely lengthened, inte- 

 rior of ears white. There are some faint rufous spots at the side of the 

 neck. Breast very faintly rufous with one narrow brownish band across. 

 Inner side of limbs mostly white, a black band inside the forearm, and a 

 very black spot behind the tarsus. Apparently there are two black bands 

 inside the thigh, but the limbs are ill preserved in all the specimens. Tail 

 dusky above near the base, with 5 or 6 black bars above on the posterior 

 half, none below, the dark bars closer together towards the tip. Fur soft, 

 moderately long, purplish grey towards the base. 



The size appears rather to exceed that of a domestic cat, and to ecpial 

 that of the Chaus. The tail apparently is about half the length of the body 

 without the head. In the two best skins examined the length from nose to 

 rump is about 25 inches, the tails 7 to 8, but very little dependence can be 

 placed on such measurements. The tail-vertebrae from the posterior end of 

 the sacrum measure when put together 8 - 75 inches, which would coincide 

 with a tail measurement outside the body of about 7i inches. 



The skeleton is that of an adult animal and the following are dimen- 

 sions of the skull and limb bones : 



Metre Inches 



Total length of skull, "108 4-25 



Length from incisors to lower edge of foramen 



magnum, "093 367 



Breadth across hinder parts of zygomatic arches, "073 2*87 



„ behind postorbital processes, - 031 1*23 



Least breadth of face between orbits, - 020 - 8 



