. Animals in menageries. being all nearlycircular ; whereas those of the American species as they approach the dorsal line: they are alsosmaller when compared with the size of the animal, andmuch more numerous,—covering not only the back, ribs,and haunches, but descending on tlie outside of thelegs as far as the knees : the annuli, moreover, of thejaguar have a spot in the centre, which these have not :the tail of this is spotted from beginning to end — thatof the jaguar has open oblong marks some way down,and is terminated by encircling annuli of black, yellow,and white. To conc
. Animals in menageries. being all nearlycircular ; whereas those of the American species as they approach the dorsal line: they are alsosmaller when compared with the size of the animal, andmuch more numerous,—covering not only the back, ribs,and haunches, but descending on tlie outside of thelegs as far as the knees : the annuli, moreover, of thejaguar have a spot in the centre, which these have not :the tail of this is spotted from beginning to end — thatof the jaguar has open oblong marks some way down,and is terminated by encircling annuli of black, yellow,and white. To conclude, the forehead^ cheeks, sidesI 2 116 ANIMALS IN MENAGERIES. of the neck, shoulders, throat, and inside of the hmbsare covered with numerous close small spots; and thereis a narrow black bar crossinge th lower part of thethroat. These characters are thus seen to be interme-diate between the jaguar of America and the panthersand leopards of the Old World. The True Ocelot. Fells Pardalis, Linn., IL Smith. {Fig. 15.). There seems to be as much uncertainty regarding thedifferent species or varieties of the ocelots, as that wejust noticed respecting the leopards and panthers. Weshall not, however, enter into lengthened scientific de-tails ; but avail ourselves of the general observationsmade upon the whole group by the accomplished natur-alist, so often cited, who has so ably investigated thisfamily. The ocelots in general, as a small but very naturalgroup among the middle-sized carnivorous animals, aredistinguished by yellow spots more or less oval, bor-dered with black. Some writers, among whom is Azara,consider that all may be referred to one species ; whileothers, with major Smith, are more disposed to view themas a group, composed of five or six permanent races. Tothis latter opinion we are more disposed to agree thanto the former. Major Smith gives us the following interesting ob-servations upon these animals : — My present views ofthe ocelots are, that they form a su
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Keywords: ., bookauthorrichmondch, bookcentury1800, booksubjectanimalbehavior
