handful of hair. In the snow the tracks of two Ounces were plainly visible ; but nothing was ever seen of either the goat
or the Leopards.
The specimen described by M. Valenciennes was brought from Niufé, in Asia Minor, by M. Tchihatcheff, who mentions
the circumstances of its captüre in the following Words :—“En 1850, je me trouvais à'Niufé précisément un jour que des
chasseurs grecs y apportaient en triomphe les dépouilles dune magnifique et grosse panthère qu’ils venaient de tuer tout
près du village dont elle ravageait les environs depuis bien longtemps ; je m’empressai de faire l’acquisition de la précieuse
dépouille, et à mon retour à Paris je fis don de la peau au Muséum du Jardin des Plantes, où l’animal, très-habilement monté,
est exposé aujourd’hui.” This example was described by Valenciennes, in the ‘ Comptes Rendus ’ for 1856, asFelis tulliana ;
but as it is identical, in my opinion, with the present species, I have placed his name as a synonym of F. uncia, Schreber.
M. Alphonse Milne-Edwards, in the ‘ Recherches des Mammifères,’ contends that Valenciennes’s specimen is a distinct
species, and founds his characters upon the markings of the fur, its slightly different colour in certain parts, and its length on
the chest. I think it is hazardous to endeavour to maintain a species among these spotted Cats when the only differences
from an acknowledged form are to be found in the length of fur and in the size, shape, and arrangement of the spots, as
these last always vary greatly, not only among individuals universally accepted as belonging to the same species, but even
upon the two sides of the same animal. So certainly is this last statement a fact, that I have seen specimens of various
species in this family appear altogether different as one or other of the sides was brought into view. In stuffed specimens
also, it must be borne in mind, the arrangement of spots and stripes is not altogether independent of the taxidermist, as he
may be possessed of more or less skill in the manipulation of his subject; and it is not unusual to see in museums the effigy
of some unhappy Felis, which, if it were suddenly brought to life, would not only be unable to recognize itself, but certainly
would never be acknowledged by the living members of the family as belonging to any existing species, so distorted would
it appear both in its markings and shape. I have examined the specimen carefully in the Paris Museum, described by
Valenciennes ; and although M. Alph. Milne-Edwards’s description is perfectly accurate, I cannot bring myself to believe that
the example represents a distinct species, but that it is only one of those variable forms which are extremely common among
the members of tins family, and which we have not been so accustomed to see in individuals of the present species
simply on account of their great rarity. That Snow-Leopards do vary both in their markings and colouring, like all other
Cats, I have had proof, from the examination of the specimens in different continental museums ; and one, in the Leyden
Museum, from the Corea, the most extreme example I have seen, I describe below. To constitute any of these forms
distinct species, unsupported by any osteological difference, would, it seems to me, only pave the way to endless confusion,
since it would be impossible to know where to stop ; and as no two Cats are ever exactly alike in their colour and
markings, eventually every specimen would claim a distinct specific rank. Dode states that this animal is quite common
in Turkestan, where the skins, badly matched, are sold to the Chinese at rather high prices.
Fur soft, rather long, thick. In the typical style the entire animal is pale greyish or yellowish white. Top of head and
cheeks thickly marked with small black spots. Back marked with irregular black rings, having three or four small
black spots in the centre ; sides and outer side of legs having the same rings, their centres greyish without spots, these
rings towards the lower part of the legs showing an inclination to become solid, with little or no black centres. Tail nearly
as long as the body and of the same colour, tipped with black and marked with numerous irregular broken rings of
black, which do not encircle thé entire tail ; near the rump the tail is marked similarly to the back. Inside the hind
and fore legs are sparsely spotted with black. There are no stripes upon the face, as is generally the case with species of
this family ; and the shape of the head is peculiar in the sudden rise of the forehead. Ears rather small, behind greyish,
the edges black. The breast and belly are lighter in colour than the upper parts, approaching nearer to a pure white,
and unspotted. The size of this species is that of an ordinary Leopard.
Sometimes individuals present a richer colour than the style described above. A specimen in the Leyden Museum,
brought by Siebold from the Corea, is a rich buff in colour, the spots large and black, frequently with a buffy centre ;
they are very distinct upon the fore and hind quarters, where they are large, black, and solid, without any light centres.
The inside of the fore and hind legs is white, but spotted as thickly and distinctly as is the outside. The tail is a little
lighter than the body, inarkëd likè those of the ordinary style. The back and head are very rich buff, brighter than the
flanks. In size it is about the same as the ordinary style. I t would from this appear that this species varies in its
colouring as greatly as do the majority of the Cats ; for I have no reason to believe that all these Leopards from the Corea
are coloured in the same manner as is this single specimen.
A specimen of this species in the Paris Museum, obtained in the mountains of Asia, near the Persian border, is peculiar
from having the spots, which are usually arranged in irregular rings, almost obsolete upon the sides of the body, being only
just discernible. On the top of the head, however, and back of the neck, as well as in the centre of the lower part of the
back, the spots are small and intensely black, thus making the general light grey colour of the rest of the body only the
more conspicuous.
The skull of the Snow-Leopard is remarkable for its high, suddenly raised forehead. The face is short, broad, and rather
flat above ; naso-premaxillary region remarkably truncate, and a depression at the junction of nasals and frontals ; the
zygomatic arches are unusually stout, and the orbits are incomplete behind. The profile view of the skull is greatly
arched on its upper outline. Superior canines moderate in size. Length of skull inches, breadth 4j inches.