SPECIES OF MAMMALS OF THE PACIFIC AREA 97 head and body. The coat color is brownish gray. Black stripes show on the head, neck, and back, black-edged blotches on the sides and flanks, and solid black dots on the limbs and underparts. The marbled cat is found from northern India and Burma south to Sumatra and Borneo. It is rare everywhere. For this reason and because of its nocturnal habits it is seldom seen.
Fig. 4i4i— Marbled Cat The Golden Cat (Felis temmincJcii) , about the size of a small collie dog, has longer legs than the marbled cat. The color of the pelage varies in different individuals from dark brown to red or grayish brown, the area along the back being darker. In the northern subspecies of this cat the body is often covered with spots and rosettes; these are rarely faintly discernible in southern subspecies. A form occurs in which the coat is black or nearly so. The face markings are alike in all color types of this cat except in the melanistic form. A pair of grayish bands
98 MAMMALS OF THE PACIFIC WORLD bordered with black passes from above the eyes over the forehead, and a conspicuous white band edged with black appears on the cheeks. The tail, which is from half to two-thirds the length of the head and body, is conspicuously lighter underneath than above. This cat ranges from China south through the Malay Peninsula to Sumatra.
The Fishing Cat (Felis vwerrina) is somewhat larger than the domestic cat; the head and body are about thirty inches long, the tail about ten inches. It has short legs, a short tail, and a rather heavy body. The coat is harsher and its color is ashy gray with dark striping and spotting. The fishing cat is rather a drab-looking animal, for its fur lacks the luster seen in most cats. It is found from Burma and Formosa south to Java and Sumatra.
The Leopard Cat {Felis bengalensis), the common wild cat of southern Asia, is found from China and Formosa southward to Sumatra, Java, Bali, Borneo, and some of the islands of the Philippines. It is about the size of a domestic cat. This heavily spotted cat has the appearance of a small leopard; the color and spotting are very variable. The leopard cat of Sumatra (sumatrana) has fewer and smaller markings than the typical cat of the mainland; that of Borneo (borneoensis) is brighter and more rufous, while that of Java and Bali (javanensis) is duller. The smaller form (minuta) is found on Palawan, Panay, Calamianes, Negros, and Cebu in the Philippines. The Bay Cat (Felis hadia), restricted to Borneo, is uniformly colored ; some obscure spots on its breast and occasional faint stripes on its face and cheeks provide the only trace of pattern. Two color phases of this cat appear — one mahogany-red, the other blackish gray. Both are black behind the ears and lack any trace of a white spot there. The length of the head and body is about two feet, of the tail sixteen inches. Very little is known of the habits of this rare cat.
The Flat-headed Cat (Felis planiceps), also with uniformly colored coat, is dark brown, darker on the back. Many of the
SPECIES OF MAMMALS OF THE PACIFIC AREA 99 Fig. 45 — Leopard Cat hairs are tipped with white, which gives a silver-gray appearance. The white underparts generally have reddish spots, and the head is often distinctly striped. The reddish brown tail is quite short. The animal is rather short-legged in comparison with East Indian cats and is the smallest one — about the size of a small house cat. It is found from Malaya south into Sumatraand Borneo.
The Domestic Cat (Felis domestica) has been introduced on many of the islands and has reverted to the wild state. The cat on Timor, once named Felis megalotis, is now believed to be a feral domestic cat.
The Eurasian Lynx {Felis lynx) occurs on Sakhalin. It resembles the American lynx. All lynxes may be distinguished from other cats by their soft fur, bobbed tail, and tufted ears.
100 MAMMALS OF THE PACIFIC WORLD Seals, Sea Lions, and Walruses Order Pinnipedia The Pinnipedia are carnivorous mammals adapted to life in the water. Their limbs are modified into flippers and their bodies streamlined; both of these factors aid their aquatic life. The order is divided into three families. The fur seals and sea lions (Otariidse) are characterized by small external ears, hind limbs capable of rotation forward to support the body, and long fore flippers. The structure of the limbs allows them to move on land with less difficulty than the remaining pinnipeds. The hair seals (Phocidse) have no external ear, hind limbs incapable of forward rotation, and short fore flippers of little use on land. The walruses (Odobenidse) are large, almost hairless, seal-like mammals with long tusks in the upper jaw, and thick, wrinkled skin.
Sea Lions and Fur Seals. Family Otariid^ The Japanese Sea Lion (Zalophus japonicus) was wrongly described by Temminck in 1850 under the impression that it was Steller's sea lion. This very complete description includes a colored print of the animal and drawings of skulls and skeletons. It shows distinctly that the animal was smaller than the real Steller's sea lion. The skull characters depicted agree closely with those of the genus Zalophus, to which the California sea lion belongs. By some scientists it was thought to be the same animal as the California sea lion but Temminck's description of the external appearance as "straw colored with a darker throat and chest in the female" does not appear to be a good description of a California sea lion. The male was darker. The only known specimens are the series of skulls and skeletons which were described by Temminck and are in the Leiden Museum in Holland, and a single skull now in the British Museum. Additional material is greatly needed before the status of this animal can be assured.
SPECIES OF MAMMALS OF THE PACIFIC AREA 101 The Steller's or Northern Sea Lion (Eumetopias jubata) is the largest of the sea lions. An old male reaches the length of thirteen feet and weighs more than fifteen hundred pounds. As with most sea lions, the females are much smaller than the males. The color varies from yellowish brown to dark brown. Steller's sea lion ranges from northern California north along the Pacific Fig. 46 — Steller's Sea Lion coast through the Aleutians and south on the Asiatic coast to northern Japan.
In the Australian Sea Lion (Neophoca cinerea) the males are easily recognized by their large size and yellow crown and back of neck. The color of the rest of the body is dark brown, growing darker posteriorly. The females and immature males are light brown. The females are about five feet in length but there are records of old males being twice as long. The Australian sea lion inhabits rocky islands off the coasts of southern and southwestern Australia.
The Southern Sea Lion (Otaria flavescens) inhabits the Galapagos and the Juan Fernandez Islands. It is found also on the coasts of South America, from near the Galapagos Islands, south around Cape Horn, on the Falkland Islands, and north
102 MAMMALS OF THE PACIFIC WORLD up the Atlantic coast to the mouth of the Rio de la Plata. Seen at a distance, the sea lions seem to be colored uniform brown. The prominent manes are lighter in hue. Males, which have short faces and pug noses, may reach a length of nine feet; females are smaller.
The fur seals or sea bears differ from the sea lions chiefly because of their thick underfur and longer and luxuriant outer hair. The coat of a sea lion is short and lacks the underfur. The Northern Fur Seal (Callorhinus alascanus), the animal from which seal-skin coats are made, is the best known of the fur seals. This animal's breeding ground is the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea, but in winter it migrates south as far as California and Japan. On account of the value of its fur the northern fur seal was rapidly becoming extinct, but following the purchase of Alaska, the United States government, after extensive research, protected the breeding colonies and controlled the killing of these animals. At the present time special government agents supervise the killing, and allow only young male seals three and fours years old to be killed. The number of fur seals is again increasing.
An adult male or bull is very dark brown, with grayish hairs on the shoulders. It is about six feet long and may weigh as much as five hundred pounds. The paler females are grayish brown and weigh only about one hundred pounds. The breeding of the northern fur seal is of special interest. Old males arrive on the breeding grounds on the Pribilof Islands in early May. They are in fat, healthy condition, and are at least six years of age. They fight among themselves, as each bull seeks to establish a small section or "station" on the coast as its own. About the middle of June the females or cows come ashore at the stations lorded over by the bulls. The number of females in each harem varies greatly ; from twelve to fifteen, or as many as a hundred have been recorded. Soon after the females arrive the pups of the previous season's mating are born, generally one to each female. The main rutting season is in July.
SPECIES OF MAMMALS OF THE PACIFIC AREA 103 By August the harems are scattered and the bulls, which all this time have ruled the harems, now leave for the water. They have become greatly emaciated, having eaten no food since their arrival in May.
During the summer, the non-breeding fur seals, chiefly made up of young males under six years of age, seek other sections of the shore, as the old males will not tolerate them. They congregate in great numbers at places called "hauling grounds." The fur seals to be killed for their skins are picked out and driven inland from these groups by the government agents. The Southern Fur Seal (Arctocephalus australis) has nearly the same range as the southern sea lion. It occurs in the Galapagos Islands and differs from the northern fur seal by its longer muzzle and shorter, less dense hair. The underfur characteristic of the fur seal group is present. This animal has been killed in great numbers for its skin, for which reason it is now rare where once it was common.
The Australian Fur Seal (Arctocephalus doriferus) inhabits the shores of southern Australia. An old male may reach a length of six feet while the female is about a foot less. The color of both males and females is grayish brown above, buffbrown beneath ; it appears blackish when wet. The habits of the animals are very similar to those of other fur seals. They have been similarly persecuted for their skins.
The Tasmanian Fur Seal (Arctocephalus tasmanicus) is similar in color to the Australian fur seal. The most noticeable differences are more robust bodies and larger heads of the males. There is also greater contrast between the sizes of the sexes, the females of this form being about the same length as females of doriferus. This fur seal is found along the coast of Tasmania and the southeastern coast of Australia.
The New Zealand Fur Seal (Arctocephalus fosteri), of the seas of southern New Zealand and southern Australia, has a long muzzle like the southern fur seal. It is colored grizzled gray, with chestnut-brown underparts, and there is generally a
104 MAMMALS OF THE PACIFIC WORLD gray spot below the eye. The males reach a length of six or seven feet, the females about one foot less. These animals have also been killed in large numbers for their skins. Hair Seals, Earless Seals. Family Phocid^ The Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) is found along the shores of both the north Atlantic and north Pacific Oceans. In the north Pacific, it ranges from Oregon northward to the Aleutians and Pribilof Islands, and thence southward on the Asiatic side of the Pacific to Japan. Its color varies from yellowish gray with dark brown spots to blackish with yellow spots. It is about five feet long; the sexes differ little in size. A number of subspecies have been distinguished, chiefly by skull characters. The Ribbon Seal {Phoca fasciata), although about the size and build of the harbor seal, is very differently colored. It is dark brown, decorated with strongly contrasting yellowish bands about the neck, shoulders, and rump. This rare seal is found along the coasts of Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, and thence as far southwest as the Kurile Islands. The Ringed Seal (Phoca hispida) has also the general shape and size of the harbor seal. The upperparts are blackish brown, covered with rings or blotches of yellowish ; the underparts are yellowish. The distribution of this seal is circumpolar; it is found as far south as Kamchatka and Sakhalin.
The Bearded Seal (Erignathus barbatus), much larger than the harbor seal, attains a length of ten or twelve feet. It is usually plainly colored, grayish or yellowish, and darker along the back. The occasional individuals which show great variation in color can always be recognized by the tuft of flattened bristles on each side of the muzzle. The bearded seal is circumpolar and' has been found on the Alaskan coast, the Aleutian, and on the northern Asiatic coast as far south as Sakhalin. The Leopard Seal {Hydrurga leptonyx) is the best known of the seals of the southern seas. The color is ashy gray above, more or less spotted with black, sometimes with lighter blotches