THE SERYAL. 
Tpie serval {Fdis served) is one of the forms of the 
Felidae, and appears to unite the characteristics of the 
lynx and cheetah. In the form of the limbs, and the 
colour and marking, as well as the texture of the coat, it 
closely approaches the cheetah and in shape 
of the body and shortness of its tail, together with the 
somewhat erect and rather pointed ears, it represents the 
family of the lynx. It, however, requires a very little 
consideration to discover the number of resemblances 
among this beautiful order, as, for instance, the Persian 
lynx resembles the puma of America as much in colour as 
the serval does the cheetah. Thus we have the serval with 
its spotted coat and short tail side by side with the Persian 
lynx in its plain dress. 
Throughout the whole group of the Felidas there is so 
little variance in the structure of the animals, that, 
divested of their skins, the most learned anatomist would 
be much perplexed to find characters to distinguish one 
species from another, except by the size ; and in the case 
of animals like the lion and tiger, it is only possible by a 
very slight difference in the skull to distinguish these 
two well-marked species, the skins of which present so 
great a contrast. 
The skins of the large cats, such as the leopards of the 
old world and the jaguars of America, are distinct enough 
