32 QUADRUPEDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



FAMILY VI. FELID.E. The Cat Family. 



Genus Lyncus. The Lynx. 



Generic characters. Dental system ; incisors §• ; canines ~~ ; 

 molars f=§ ; = 23 ; feet four-toed ; nails retractile ; head short ; 

 ears tufted, triangular. 



1. Lyncus borealis. The Canada Lynx. 



Felis Canadensis, Lin., Cat Lynx, Penn., Arct. Zool., i. p. 50. 

 Felis Canadensis, Geoff. An. du Mus. Sabine, Franklin's Jo-urn., p. 

 659. Richardson, Fauna Bor. Am. p. 101. Harlan, Fauna Am. p. 98. 

 The Northern Lynx, Godman, Nat. Hist. i. p. 302. 

 Figure ; Ibid., p. 302. 



Specific characters. Color gray ; ears tufted, with long black 

 hair springing just behind the apex, bordered posteriorly with 

 black, and running into the tuft ; hair long and soft ; tail short, 

 terminated with black. 



Description. The general color is rather a silvery gray, with a 

 yellowish tint beneath, which appears if the hair is but slightly 

 disturbed ; extremities of the hairs brownish, then white, and 

 then brownish extending to the base, intermixed with others en- 

 tirely black ; darker along the back ; the fur along the back and 

 head is brown ; along the back of the neck, sid js, tail, and its 

 base, yellowish ; the tail beneath has a white stripe ; hair upon 

 the breast and belly long, white, but still terminated with brown- 

 ish ; one brown spot on each fore leg near the body, and several 

 on the breast behind the legs ; ears terminated with pencils or 

 tufts entirely black ; bordered with black, which extends near to 

 the base on the posterior, but only about half that distance on the 

 anterior side ; inside of this border it is yellowish, but more dis- 

 tinct posteriorly ; base of the lower jaw surrounded with a fringe 

 of long hair, shorter in the female ; it is intermixed with gray, 

 black, and white, the middle portion black ; mouth surrounded 

 with brownish fur or hair, more distinct at the extremity of the 

 lower jaw ; white beneath ; whiskers black and white ; tail ter- 

 minated with black ; white beneath ; legs yellowish behind ; toes 



