452 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



The whole question of the relationship of close species in the 

 various groups of animals would seem to be one of considerable 

 interest. One hears little of it, however ; minute details of how 

 the local race of one species differs from another local race of 

 the same seeming to absorb much of the attention of field 

 naturalists, and of that of the big game hunters who perchance 

 record scientific notes, and very greatly that of many of the 

 more scientific authorities. We have accumulated much know- 

 ledge about these differences, but little or none of the degree 

 of relationship of less closely related forms. Much valuable 

 information arrives promiscuously, by chance. We know now 

 that the hybrid Polar and Brown Bear is fertile, and that the 

 hybrid Lion and Tiger is sterile, and the results are what we 

 might very feasibly have expected. The Lion one can hardly 

 deny is an aberrant Cat, and one that seems to have specialised 

 back to a more generalised form ; compared to the typical Cats 

 he is a degenerate, weaker clawed type, perhaps even slacker 

 muscled, noisy and blundering, roaming the open plains in 

 troops, even at times, one might almost say, in packs. 



One might suppose, indeed, that the Lion was the ancestral 

 and not the specialised type, and that this latter is represented 

 by the more proficient members of the family, as Leopards and 

 Jaguars ; but when we remember the Lion's unique appearance, 

 his specialised teeth, and his retention, though in waning degree, 

 of the chief Cat attributes, it is probably likely that the former 

 view is the correct one, otherwise one would naturally look for 

 more generalised civet-like attributes. 



Although all the larger Cats (and this has indeed been the 

 case with nearly every family besides) have been kept in close 

 proximity in many collections for many years, there has been no 

 systematic attempt (or it is not deemed worth mentioning, if 

 there has) to determine their relationship by cross-breeding 

 experiments. Hybrids have been produced between Lion and 

 Tiger, Lion and Leopard, Tiger and Leopard, Puma and 

 Leopard, and Jaguar and Leopard ; and that the first is, so 

 far, sterile and the last fertile is all, I believe, we at present 

 know, and while one may have one's own opinion as to these 

 matters, so much surmise iB unsatisfactory. 



It is very interesting to know how the Lion of Somaliland 



