prettily varied by a number of short transverse stripes of blackish-brown ; the insides of the
extremities are paler, but exhibit the same transverse dark marks. The under jaw is white,
except the tip of the chin, which is brownish. The throat is white. The chest is coloured
and spotted nearly like the shoulders. The belly is white, tinged anteriorly with brown, and
marked throughout with rather large blackish-brown spots. The tail is reddish-brown, with
some blackish markings above; and is white underneath. I t is shaped like the tail of the
Canada Lynx.
Dimensions.
Inches. Lines. Inches. Lines.
Xength of the head and body , 33 0 I Length of the head, including the curvature
,, tail (vertebrae) . . 4 0 of the forehead , . . . 6 6
I Height of the ear . . . . 2 0
132.] 3. F elis p a s c i a t a . (Rafinesque.) Banded Lynx.
The Tiger cat. Lewis and Clark, vol. iii. p. 28.
Lynx fasciatus. “ Rafinesque, Am. Month. Mag. 1817, p. 46.” Desmarest, Mamm.
Harlan, Fauna, p. 100. I
I possess no other information respecting this animal than what is contained in
the following description of it by Lewis and Clark. It seems to bear considerable
resemblance to the Canada Lynx, but differs from it, and from the preceding
-species, in the transverse dorsal stripes.
D E S C R I P T IO N .
“ The tiger cat inhabits the borders of the plains and the woody country in the neighbourhood
of the Pacific. It is of a size larger than the wild cat of the United States, and much the
same in form, agility, and ferocity. The colour of the back, neck, and sides is of a reddish-
brown, irregularly variegated with small spots of dark-brown: the tail is about two inches
long, and nearly white, except the extremity, which is black. It terminates abruptly, as if it
had been amputated. The belly is white, beautifully variegated with small black spots;
the legs are of the same colour with the sides, and the back is marked transversely with
black stripes : the ears are black on the outer side, covered with fine, short hair, except at
the upper point, which is furnished with a pencil of hair, fine, straight, and black, three-
fourths of an inch in length. The hair of this animal is long and fine, far exceeding that
o f the wild cat of the United States.”
[33.] 1. Castor fiber, Americanus. The American Beaver.
G e n u s . Castor. L i n n .
Castor. S a g a r d T h e o d a t , Canada, p. ^6^.
Castor fiber, L i n n . ' Sgst.
Beaver Castor. P e n n a n t , Arci. Zool., vol. i. p. 98.
Castor ordinaire. D e s m a r e s t , Mamm.
Castor Americanus. F. C u v i e r .
Castor fiber. Harlan, Fauna, vol. i. p. 122.
The Beaver. G oDm a n , Nat. Hist., vol, ii. p. 21.
Ammisk. C r e e I n d ia n s . Ttsoutaye. H u r o n s .
D E S C R I P T IO N .
• The Beaver has the form of an oval sack. The greatest girth of its body is just before the
hind legs, and it tapers gradually on every side from thence to the obtuse muzzle. The hind
legs are situated far forward, and the part of the body that projects behind them tapers pretty
suddenly to the setting on of the flat scaly tail. The incisors are smooth and orange-coloured
anteriorly, and posteriorly they are narrower and white. The nose is very obtuse both vertically
and horizontally. The eye is small, and is situated rather nearer to the ear than to the
end of the nose; the pupil is almost closed in a strong light. The ears are short, thick,
rounded, and well clothed with short fur; the animal closes the auditory openings by
folding them vertically. The fu r consists of a dense coat of somewhat waved, shining,
smoke-gray down, concealed by a long coarse hair, which lies smooth, and, when in
season, has a shining chestnut-brown colour. In summer, the fur, previous to falling off,
changes its colour to a pale yellowish-brown, and some of the winter specimens have a very
dark hue, approaching to blackish-brown. The tail is tongue-shaped, and is covered with
•oval, angular scales, which are not tiled, and are smallest along the margin of the tail. They
are not hard; some scattered Iiairs spring from their interstices, and the root of the tail is
covered for a short space with finer but shorter hair than that of the back. The tail
is flat horizontally. The fore-extremities are small and very short. The toes are well
separated, and, with the palms, are very flexible. They are used like hands in conveying
food to the mouth, but are so short that the animal is obliged to incline its head towards
them. The fore-claws are somewhat compressed, strong, and fitted for digging. The middle
one is the largest, the one on each side of it somewhat shorter, and the outermost and innermost
are the two shortest. The three exterior ones wear down, whilst the other two remain
•sharp. The hind-feet have long, hard, and callous soles, and their long toes are connected by
a web, which extends even beyond the roots of the nails. The second toe has two nails, the
under one of which is.rounded with a cutting edge, and lies nearly at right angles to the upper
one;—there is a less perfect double nail on the inner toe. The other toes have simple
P