ScHAKFF — FoDUcr OccKrrciicc of Africdn Wihl Cat in Irrhiud. 'i 



discovered an ulna from Ballinamintra cave which he pronounced 

 to be that of a Wild Cat. I subsequently sent a diawing of this 

 ulna to Professor ^^ehring, of Berlin, who possessed a very large 

 collection of skeletons of Wild Cats, and who was a recognised 

 authority on mammalian osteology. (We have to deplore his untimely 

 death, which occurred last winter.) All he could say was that the 

 ulna was not that of a Domestic Cat, nor could he identify it with the 

 idna) of the German Wild Cats in his collection. This left the matter 

 of the former occurrence of the Wild Cat in Ireland somewhat in 

 doubt, until I had an opportunity of examining the large collection 

 of cat remains brought to light through Mr. Ussher's successful 

 explorations of the Edenvale and Newhall caves, near Ennis, in 

 County Clare. 



In examining a number of jaw fragments of cats, and single teeth 

 from these caves, I was struck by the great size of some of the lower 

 carnassial, or molar teeth. Many of the individuals to whom these teeth 

 belonged were evidently Domestic Cats which had strayed and had died 

 in the caves in recent times, or whose remains had been dragged there 

 by other carnivores. A few, however, seemed to belong to another 

 species, and I determined to make a very careful comparison with all the 

 available material of cats in the Dublin Museum. I also transported 

 all the cave remains of cats to the British Museum, where, with 

 Mr. Oldfield Thomas' kind permission, I was enabled to compare them 

 with the large series of cat skulls in his charge. I likewise compared 

 the Irish remains with those of the fossil English Wild Cat remains in 

 the British Museum, Dr. Smith Woodward kindly granting me every 

 possible facility for doing so. And, finally, I examined and measured 

 the well-known jaw of a Wild Cat which is in the charge of Professor 

 8ollas at Oxford, who gladly placed the specimen at my disposal. I have 

 thus had opportunities for handling and critically comparing a large 

 series of the teeth of various species of cats, both fossil and recent. 



In the following table I give the measurements of the lengths of 

 the lower carnassial teeth of Domestic Cats. In order that there 

 should be no doubt as to the exact position where the length of the 

 tooth was measured, I herewith indicate the line of measurement by 

 a dotted line on a figure representing a carnassial tooth : — 



Fig. 1. — Lower Caniussial Tooth ot Cat, showing line of nieii:?uiement. 



./ -1 



