Igo MOSTLY MAMMALS 
the former type of coloration, there seems full justification 
for regarding them as the descendants of the Egyptian 
cat. Moreover, the tail of the latter is distinctly longer 
and less bushy than that of the wild cat, and thus more 
like that of the domestic breeds. Additional evidence in 
favour of the southern origin of our domesticated breeds 
has been furnished by Dr. G. Martorelli, of Milan, who 
has described two European wild cats, the one from 
Sardinia and the other from the Tuscan Maremma. These 
are stated to be very different from the ordinary wild cat, 
and to approximate to the Egyptian cat, of which they 
are regarded as forming a race or variety, under the name 
of the Mediterranean cat (F. mediterranea). As these cats 
are stated to present considerable resemblance to domes- 
ticated breeds, there can be little hesitation in accepting 
the view that, so far as Europe is concerned, the latter 
were originally derived from the Egyptian cat. 
But Prof. Martorelli goes one step farther than this, 
and suggests that the European wild cat, through the 
intervention of the Mediterranean race of the Egyptian 
cat, is likewise descended from the latter. Curiously 
enough, Dr. Hamilton, from the circumstance that certain 
fossil remains found in Belgium and England seemed to 
belong to F. kbyca rather than Ff. catus, had previously 
hazarded the conjecture “that the European wild cat and 
the Egyptian domestic cat are derived from one common 
ancestor.” 
Although it is going a little out of the way, it may be 
mentioned here that, in the opinion of Prof. Martorelli, the 
Egyptian cat has given rise to another line of descendants. 
The first species on this line is the jungle-cat (. chaus) 
of India and Africa, while the second place is occupied by 
the various species of lynxes, between which and the 
