lly the presence or
absence of tufts or pencils of hair on the external ears.

In the typical genus _Felis_, which includes the great majority of the
species, and has a distribution coextensive with that of the family,
the upper sectorial tooth has a distinct inner cusp, the claws are
completely contractile, the tail is long or moderate, and the ears do
not carry distinct tufts of hair. As regards the larger species, the
lion (_F. leo_), tiger (_F. tigris_), leopard (_F. pardus_), ounce or
snow-leopard (_F. uncia_) and clouded leopard (_F. nebulosa_) are
described in separate articles. Of other Old World species it must
suffice to mention that the Tibetan Fontanier's cat (_F. tristis_),
and the Indian marbled cat (_F. marmorata_), an ally of the
above-mentioned clouded leopard, appear to be the Asiatic
representatives of the American ocelots. The Tibetan Pallas's cat (_F.
manul_) has been made the type of a distinct genus, _Trichaelurus_, in
allusion to its long coat. One of the largest of the smaller species
is the African serval, q.v. (_F. serval_), which is yellow with solid
black spots, has long limbs, and a relatively short tail. Numerous
"tiger-cats" and "leopard-cats," such as the spotted _F. bengalensis_
and the uniformly chestnut _F. badia_, inhabit tropical Asia; while
representative species occur in Africa. The jungle-cat (_F. chaus_),
which in its slightly tufted ears and shorter tail foreshadows the
lynxes, is common to both continents. Another African species (_F.
ocreata_) appears to have been the chief progenitor of the European
domestic cat, which has, however, apparently been crossed to some
extent with the ordinary wild cat (_F. catus_). Of the New World
species, _F. concolor_, the puma or couguar, commonly called "panther"
in the United States, is about the size of a leopard, but of a uniform
brown colour, spotted only when young, and is extensively distributed
in both North and South America, ranging between the parallels of 60
deg. N. and 50 deg. S., where it is represented by numerous local
races, varying in size and colour. _F. onca_, the jaguar, is a larger
and more powerful animal than the last, and more resembles the leopard
in its colours; it is also found in both North and South America,
although with a less extensive range, reaching northwards only as far
as Texas, and southwards nearly to Patagonia (see JAGUAR). _F.
pa