32 



1867. Lyncus fasdatus, Gray, P. Z. S., 1867, 276.— Id., Cat. Carn. Mam., 



1869, 38, sp. 6. 

 1869. Panthera concolor maculata, Fitz., Ditzg. Akad. Wiss. Wein, 1869, 

 lix, 636. 



Specific Characters. — Fur moderately full and soft. Above and on sides 

 pale rufous overlaid with grayish, the latter color most prevalent in 

 winter. A few obsolete dark spots on the sides, and indistinct longitu- 

 dinal lines along the middle of the back. Color on the throat like the 

 sides, but paler. Beneath, white spotted. Inside of fore and hind legs 

 banded. Tail with a small black patch at the end, with indistinct sub- 

 terminal half rings. Inner surface of ears black, with a white patch. 



This species has a very wide range, and varies much both with place 

 and season. Those from different localities vary much at the same time. 



The synonomy of Lynx rufus covers the three sub-species into which 

 Dr. Coues thinks this species is separable — Lynx rufus, var. rufuSf the 

 common bay lynx, which reaches from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast 

 throughout nearly the whole breadth of the United States ; Lynx rufus, 

 Y&r. fasciatus, oi the moist north-west coast of Oregon and Washington 

 Territory, is a heavily colored red form; lastly, var. maculatus, the pro- 

 fusely banded and spotted form from Florida, described by Prof. Baird. 



In one specimen the length of head and body was 28f inches, tail 7 

 inches. Another, 27 inches in length, was 15^ inches high at the shoul- 

 der, and 6J inches from heel to end of hind foot. With reference to the 

 variation of L. rufus in size and color, Prof. Baird states that in many of 

 our animals of wide distribution there appear to be, as in this case, sev- 

 eral races as far as color and dimensions are concerned, in particular 

 species ; skulls of the same sex and relative age being different in size. 

 This is particularly true with the cats, deer, bears, and raccoons, and as 

 a general rule the farther south we go the smaller the species. Northern 

 skins of wild cats have the hair longer and softer through the year than 

 southern, while, as in the deer, the hair will have a reddish or bay tinge, 

 replaced by grayish in the winter. 



Judge Burgoyne informs Mr. Langdon that wild-cats were occasionally 

 taken in the vicinity of Cincinnati as late as 1814. It is scarcely likely 

 that any remain to the present time, although they are often found in 

 Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee. 



FAMILY CANID^. 



The Dogs are digitigrade Carnivora, with blunt, non-retractile claws. 

 The feet are, apparently, all four-toed, but the foremost ones have a rudi- 

 mentary thumb higher up, to which a claw is attached (sometimes want- 

 ing). The dentition is typically i. f:|; c. y-V; P™- i'-i', m. |:|=42. 



