MAMMALS—FELIDAE—LYNX FASCIATUS. 
97 
the fore legs being chestnut, varied, however, with the large dusky spots visible on the whole 
lower surface. The chestnut of the sides extends far on the belly, which, instead of being a 
pure sharp white, is much tinged in places with pale yellowish brown, no part being clear 
white. The dark blotches are quite distinct on the lower part of the sides, though none are 
distinguishable on the upper part of sides and back. 
The exterior of the limbs is like the sides of the body, though more distinctly blotched with 
dusky. The interior faces are like the middle of the belly, with three distinct transverse bars 
on the fore leg, and traces of a fourth near the wrist; the inside of the thigh being similarly 
marked. The elevated sole to the heel on the hind feet, with the regions around the pads of 
all the feet, are very distinct sooty brown. 
The ears, at first sight, appear entirely black ; a closer inspection, however, reveals an obscure 
small patch of grayish near the posterior margin, much less than in other small lynxes. 
The ears are slightly pencilled. There is a considerable amount of black about the head, the 
edge of the jaws being decidedly so. There is a dark line in the ruff, from behind the angle of 
the jaw, obliquely downward and inward, running into a patch of the same in the thickest of 
the ruff; another extends from a point in the centre of the chin, (those of opposite sides start¬ 
ing together and diverging backwards,) and running into the same patch on the ruff. 
The tail exhibits but little white beneath. The centre of the extreme tip, however, is dull 
white. The upper part is like the back, with one or two transverse dusky bars, and the termi¬ 
nal third is black; this covering a larger proportion of the tail than in any other of our species. 
The black of the back does not penetrate far towards the roots of the hair, except in a few 
which are black to near the base. 
Several other specimens from Washington Territory agree in general characters, as color, 
length, and softness of hair, &c. They have a rather more conspicuous gray patch on the ear, 
though less than in other lynxes. These are all fall or winter specimens apparently. They 
lack the very decided dorsal dark stripe of 1166, though this region shows a greater predomi¬ 
nance of dark hairs than elsewhere. One specimen (1024) has quite a grayish cast, though the 
reddish tint is more appreciable than in the L. rufus. 
Owing to the condition of the skins, nothing satisfactory can be presented respecting the com¬ 
parative measurements, excepting with regard to No. 464, which was measured before skinning 
by Dr. Cooper, who gives—length, 34 inches ; fore leg, 18 ; hind leg, 20 ; tail, 6 ; iris yellow. 
A skull, No. 3147, is considerably larger than that of any wild cat I have ever seen, fully 
attaining the dimensions of the skull of a Canada lynx. (Length, 5.38 ; width, 3.85.) 
This species is readily distinguishable, by its rich chestnut color and full soft fur, from the 
other American lynxes ; the Texas one being paler, and hair much shorter. The light colored 
region of the belly is narrower than usual, the chestnut of opposite sides sometimes seeming to 
come almost into contact. In no other is the band across the throat so continuous and so near 
the color of the sides ; the black margin to the upper lip is broader. The ears, too, have much 
less of a gray patch than usual; one specimen, indeed, exhibits scarcely a trace of this. 
This handsome lynx was first described by Lewis & Clark in the narrative of the expedition 
up the Missouri; and, in point of minute accuracy, their notice leaves little to be desired. This 
is as follows: 
“ The tiger cat inhabits the border of the plains and the woody country in the neighborhood 
of the Pacific. The animal is of a size larger than the wild cat of our country, and much 
the same in form, agility, and ferocity. The color of the back, neck, and sides is of a reddish 
13 L 
