FEL IS CHAHS.
TH E "G11.VUS.
FELIS CHAUS, Güldenst. Nov. Comm. Petrop. vol. x. (1 7 7 5 ) p. 483, t. 1 4 ,1 5 ?—Schreb. Säugeth. (1788) Th. iü. p. 414.—Gmel. Syst. Nat.
(1 7 8 8 ) vol. i. pt. l,)p . 82i sp.- I t —Desm. Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat. (18 1 6 ) p . 108.—Cuv. Ossem. Foss. (18 2 5 ) vol. iv. p. 440.—F. Cuv.
& St.-Hil. Hist. Nat. Mamm. (1826) ,vol.. ii. pi. 131.—Rüpp. Zool. Ati. (1826) t. 4, p. 13— Griffi. Anim. King. (1827) vol. ii. p. 491.—
Temm. Mon. Mamm. (1 8 2 7 ) vol. i. p . 121.^L ess. Man. Mamm. (1 8 2 7 ) p. 185. sp. 493.—Fisch. Syn. Mamm. (1829) p. 209. sp. 25.—
Jard. N a t. Libr. vol. xvi. p. 256, pLxxxii.—Less. Compì. Buff. (1839) vol. i. p. 411.—Keyserl. & Bias. Wirbèlth. Europ. (18 4 0 ) p. 62.—
Less. Nouv. Tab. Règn. Anim. (18 4 2 ) p. 56. sp. 543.—Blyth, Joum. Asiat. Soc. Béng. (1842) p. 747.—St-H il. Voy. Jacq. (1847)
p. 45.—Adams, Proc. Zool. Sock(18'50) p . 156.—Htìrsf. Cat. Mamm. MúS. 'Ei-Ind. Co. (18 5 1 ) p. 50. sp. 84, Append, p. 251.—Gerv.
Hist. N a t. Mamm, (18 5 5 ) p. 87.—Horsf. Proc. Zool. Soc. (18 5 6 ) p. 396. sp. 22.—Blyth, Proc. Zool. Soc. (18 6 3 ) p. 186. sp. 19.—Sclat
Proc. Zool. Soc. (18 6 4 ) p. 99.—Tristr. Proc. Zool. Soc..(1 8 6 6 ) p. 92. sp. 66.—Jerd. Mamm. Ind. (1869) p. 111. sp. 1 1 5—M‘Mast.
Notes Jerd. Mamm. Ind. (1870) p. 39.—Blyth, Cat. Mamm. & B. Burma, (1875) p. 28. sp. 27.
FELIS CATOLYNX, Pall. Zoog. Rosso-Asiat. (18 1 1 ) vol. i. p. 23.
LYNX CHAUS, Fisch. Zoogn. (1 8 1 4 ) p. 230. sp; 16.
FELIS AFFINIS, J. E. Gray, Illust. Ind. Zool. pi.
LYNCUS ERYTHROTIS, Hodg. Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1 8 3 6 ) vol. v. p. 233.
FELIS INCONSPICUUS, Gray, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (18 3 7 ) p. 577.
CHAUS LIBYCUS, Gray, Cat. Mamm. Brit. Mus-. (1 8 4 2 ) p. 45.—Id. Proc. Zool. Soc. (18 6 7 ) p. 275.
FELIS JACQUEMONTI, I. Geoff. Voy. Jacq. t. 3. fig. 1 (skull) ; text, p. 58 (1847).
FELIS LIBYCUS, Loche, Expl. Scient, vol. iii. (1850).—Id. Cat. Mamm. Algér. (1858) p. 8. sp. 6.
FELIS (CATOLYNX) CHAUS, Severtz. Rev. Mag. Zool. (18 5 8 ) p. 387.
CHAUS JACQUEMONTI, Gerr. Cat. Bones Brit. Mus. (18 6 2 ) p. .—Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1 8 6 7 ) p. 275.—Id. Cat. Carn. Mamm. (1869)
p. 34. sp. 1.
PANTHERA INCONSPICUA, Fitzin. Sitzgsber. Akad. Wiss. Wien, (1868) lviii. p. 508.
PANTHERA JACQUEMONTI, Fitzin. Sitzgsber. Akad. Wiss. Wien, (1868) lviii. p; 517.
Khyoung tsek-koon, Arakan. -
H a b . Egypt, the Caspian, Persia, India (H o r s f ie l d ). India, North Burma, Arakan, South-West Asia, North-east
Africa, South Africa (B l y t h ).
T h i s Cat has a wide distribution, being found, as given above, from Southern Africa to North Burma. I t has also been the
recipient of many names, as the list of synonyms shows; but it is now generally conceded among mammalogists that there
is but one species, the examples from Asia and Africa being identical. Some specimens have the external marks on the
limbs conspicuous, while in others they are very faint or entirely absent. This last is the F.-jacquemonti style. These
peculiarities, however, are only such as appertain to individuals, and cannot in any way be regarded as indicating different
species. In India, according to Jerdon, this is the common wild Cat, being met with from the Himalayas to Cape Comorin,
and from the sea-level up to 8000 feet elevation. It dwells both in jungles and in open country, and is fond of staying
in long grass, reeds, corn-fields, &c. Occasionally it destroys poultry. It is said to breed twice a year; and the fitter
consists of three or four young. These are perfectly untamable, no matter how young they may have been when
captured. Blyth relates that he possessed a couple of kittens of this species, taken when they could scarcely crawl, but
was entirely unable to subdue their savage disposition. They allowed him to touch them, but never suddenly, and
always greeted him with a spiteful hiss. When smoothing their fur, they threw back their heads as if frightened, and
never failed to resume their growling and spitting the moment his hand was taken away. Lieut. Tickell also found the
Chaus to be utterly untamable. Once when shooting, Jerdon brought down a peafowl at the edge of a sugar-cane
field, when one of these Cats sprang upon the bird, though not dead, and, in spite of its struggles, carried it away from