The black and white portions of the hairs on the back produce in that part a mottled appearance, and in the specimen from which the above description is taken, these two colours are about equal in proportion. In another specimen now before me, the black colour predominates on the back. The fur in the younger animals of this species is not so long nor so harsh, and the upper parts are grizzled with black and white; that is to say, these two colours do not form patches of considerable extent as in the adults; the general colouring is also somewhat paler. The chin is brown-black or brown, instead of black, and the upper band, or that, which in the adult extends across the upper part of the neck, is interrupted in the middle; in fact, is only traceable on the sides of the neck.
Azara, in his description of the Agouarachay, says, the muzzle, as far back as the eyes, is blackish; whereas, in all the specimens examined by me, the muzzle is of the same colour as the other parts of the head, or very nearly so. In other respects his description agrees with the animal described by me, and not with the Canis cinereo-argentatus, which Desmarest and Lesson suppose to be the Agouarachay of Azara. In Fischer’s “Synopsis Mammalium” the Canis Azaræ is described as having the tip of the tail white; whereas it is black, not only in the five specimens which have come under my notice, but also in those in the collection of Prince Maximilian[[9]] (who was the original describer) and in the Paris Museum.
“This animal has a wide range; Prince Maximilian brought specimens from Brazil; and it is common in La Plata, Chile, the whole of Patagonia, even to the shores of the Strait of Magellan; and a fox, which lives on the small islands not far from Cape Horn, probably belongs to this species. This animal generally frequents desert places; I saw many in the valley of the Despoblado, a branch of that of Copiapó, where there is no fresh water, and where, with the exception of some small rodents, (the constant inhabitants of sterile regions) scarcely any other animal could exist. I saw also very many of these foxes wandering about by day (although Azara says they are nocturnal in Paraguay) on the plains of Santa Cruz, where various kinds of mice are abundant, and likewise around the Sierra Ventana. In the course of one day’s ride in this latter neighbourhood, (not far from Bahia Blanca, lat. 39° S.) I should think I saw between thirty and forty. They generally were wandering at no great distance from their burrows; but, as they are not very swift animals, our dogs caught two. Azara states that in Paraguay this fox, which he calls the Agourá-chay, inhabits thick woods, and that it makes a great nest or pile of straw, to lie on; but that near Buenos Ayres it uses the holes of the Bizcacha. Further southward, where the Bizcacha is not found, it certainly excavates its own burrow.[[10]] In Chile these foxes are very destructive to the vineyards, from the quantity of grapes they consume; so that boys are generally kept in the vintage season with bells and other means to frighten them away. Azara states, that in Paraguay they likewise eat fruit and sugarcane. By the same authority it is said, that the Agourá-chay, when taken young, is easily domesticated.”—D.
1. Felis Yagouaroundi.
Plate VIII.
Felis Yagouaroundi, Desmarest, Mammologie, p. 230.
Yagouaroundi, Azara, Essais sur l’histoire Naturelle des Quadrupèdes de la Province du Paraguay, tom. i. p. 171.
Felis Darwinii, Martin, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1837, p. 3.
F. vellere brevi, adpresso, purpurascenti-fusco; pilis flavescente annulatis; pedibus nigro lavatis; caudâ longissimâ; auribus parvulis.
Description.—The fur is rather harsh, short, and somewhat adpressed: the under fur is of a pale grayish brown colour; the hairs which constitute the chief clothing of the animal, are black, annulated with brownish yellow, or in some parts, yellow-white, each hair having about three or four rings. The black and pale colours are about equal in proportion, and their mixture produces a deep brown tint, which is almost uniform throughout the body and limbs. On the head the yellowish colour predominates over the black, excepting on the tip of the muzzle, and thence back to the eye, where the hairs are of a brownish black colour. On the throat the hairs are brown. The underside of the tarsus is black, and on the outer side of the fore foot there is a black mark which extends upwards on to the wrist. The tail is long and bushy; towards and on the base, the hairs are annulated with black and yellow, like those of the body; but beyond this they are of a more uniform colour, each hair being brown at the base, and gradually shaded into black towards the tip. The ears are small and rounded, and covered with hairs of the same colour as those on the head. The claws are of a large size, and white colour; the toes are united for a considerable portion of their length by the interdigital membrane.
| In. | Lines. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Length | from nose to root of tail | 25 | 0 |
| to base of ear | 3 | 6 | |
| of tail (hairs included) | 19 | 0 | |
| of ear | 1 | 0 | |
| Height | of body at shoulders | 12 | 0 |