ACCOUNT OF A NEW SPECIES OF FELIS. 171 



" cantibus." At the time when these general cha- 

 racters were given, it might have been objected, that 

 they did not sufficiently distinguish the Puma from 

 the lioness ; but the discovery of the animal now 

 under consideration, renders the definition as unap- 

 propriate, as the trivial name concolor, imposed on 

 the Puma by Linnaeus. This designation has been 

 altered by Shaw; but to prevent the confusion 

 which might arise from the application of any name, 

 already appropriated by the illustrious author of the 

 Systema Naturae, to a new species, I propose to give 

 this the trivial name unicolor, as expressive of its 

 remarkable uniformity of colour. 



The general hue of this new species, is a beauti- 

 ful glossy reddish-brown. The colour of the whole 

 upper part of the body, including the head and tail, 

 has a considerable resemblance to that of a very dark 

 bay horse ; the tint becomes gradually paler on the 

 sides and under part of the neck, and passes by im- 

 perceptible shades into an ochry brown on the belly. 

 When closely examined, the darker colour of the 

 back is partly owing to an intermixture of blackish 

 brown hairs with the rest of the fur. The hair over 

 the body is rather short, like that usually seen on a 

 smooth Spanish pointer. The only species of felis 

 with which this animal can be confounded, is the 

 Puma ; but a short comparison will shew, that they 

 are totally different. The specimen from which 

 this description is drawn up, was brought from De- 



