On Felis badia Gray

Among some very commonly known mammals, presented to the Leyden Museum by the well-known Dutch Borneoexplorer Dr. Nieuwenhuis, I found a fine Cat quite distinct from all other cats I ever saw; it has a size somewhat larger than Felis planiceps, a small head like that cat, a much longer tail and a much darker color — though of a uniform tinge like in planiceps — than the latter offers. Moreover there are, though only to see in certain lights, three stripes on the head from between the ears. No species having been described presenting the named peculiarities, I supposed the cat belonging to an undescribed form. Studying however the small uniformly colored Cats from Borneo, I was struck by the plate of Felis badia published by Dr. Gray in P. Z. S. L. 1874, as the animal there figured presents a small black spot at the upper end of its tail and which character is also to see in my specimen. The color however of Gray’s animal was too bright and in the description no word concerning the three stripes on the forehead. As I read in a foot-note on p. 322 of Gray’s description that Wolf’s figure was inexactly drawn, I had reason to suppose that description as well as figure might perhaps be incomplete and withdrawn. Now there being of Felis badia no specimen in our collection, I wrote to Mr. Oldfield Thomas for informations; he kindly told me as follows: „one skin of F. badia from Baram (Everett) is quite like the type in every respect. Another, also from Baram (Hose) is a sort of smoky grey, and when first it came I thought it was a different animal. But further examination showed that it was the grey phase of the red one, just as is the case into the Jaguarondi. Although nearly all dark grey, it has here and there irregular touches of a red exactly like the red of the typical form, on the throat, belly, flanks, head a. s. o. The skulls are quite alike, and both are said to come from the same district. The figure of F. badia is about right for the type and for the red specimen of Everett’s. But Hose’s dark specimen is very different. As to the stripes on head, Hose’s dark grey specimen shows clearly three dark stripes along the crown to the level of the ears, and in certain lights a trace of them is to be seen in the two red specimens, though they would not have been noticed if one had not been guided to them by the dark specimen. There is also an indistinct dark postauricular patch in the dark specimen”. Thanks to Thomas’ description I feel as yet sure that I have before me the fourth specimen ever procured of the therefore very rare Felis badia, a splendid addition to our collections indeed. Charles Hose said in his „descriptive account”: „this handsome red cat is very rare and only met with in the dense forest. It is about the size of Felis marmorata, but the general colour is a dark chestnut red. I have not had an opportunity to notice the habits of this animal, having only obtained one specimen”.