It is particularly necessary to observe, that neither of the animals we are now describing can be classed with the pardus of Linnæus, or the leopardus of Brisson, as they are described with having long spots on the belly, which is a characteristic that belongs neither to the panther, ounce, or leopard, and yet the panther of the ancients has it, as well as the pardus of Gesner, and the panthera of Alpinus; but from the researches I have made I am convinced that these three animals, and perhaps a fourth, which we shall treat of hereafter, and which have not these long spots on the belly, are the only species of this kind to be found in Asia and Africa, and therefore we must hold this character of our nomenclators as fictitious, especially when we recollect, that if any animals have these long spots, either in the old or new continent, they are always upon the neck or back, and never on the belly. We shall merely observe further, that in reading the ancients we must not confound the _panther_ with the _panthera_, the latter is the animal we have described, but the panther of the scholiasts of Homer and other authors, is a kind of timid wolf, perhaps the jackall, as I shall explain when I come to the history of that animal. After having dissipated the cloud under which our nomenclators seem to have obscured Nature, and removed every ambiguity, by giving the exact description of the three animals under consideration, we shall now proceed to the peculiarities which relate to them respectively. Of the panther, which I had an opportunity of examining alive, his appearance was fierce, he had a restless eye, a cruel countenance, precipitate motions, and a cry similar to that of an enraged dog, but more strong and harsh; his tongue was red and exceedingly rough, his teeth were strong and pointed; his claws sharp and hard; his skin was beautiful, of a yellow hue, interspersed with black spots of an annular form, and his hair short; the upper part of his tail was marked with large black spots, and with black and white ringlets towards the extremity; his size and make was similar to that of a vigorous mastiff, but his legs were not so large. _Engraved for Barr's Buffon._ [Illustration: FIG. 103. _Leopard_] [Illustration: FIG. 104. _Ounce_]