Object Status:
Unlocated
Accession Date:
By 1796
Primary Source Reference:
A Scientific and Descriptive Catalogue of Peale's Museum (Philadelphia, 1796), p. 32
Additional Source Text:
"This is a young one brought from Cayenne, by Raphaelle Peale."
Notes:
Peale's nomenclature is confusing, making an identification difficult. In his Natural History Lecture 4 (Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University), Peale reported that Raphaelle had returned from Cayenne with a "Tigrina or Magay of Buffon." This specimen was presumably either the margay (Leopardus wiedii), pictured here, a small wild cat native to Central and South America that is solitary and nocturnal and lives mainly in primary evergreen and deciduous forest, or the oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus), also known as the northern tiger cat, little spotted cat, and tigrillo, a small spotted cat ranging from Central America to central Brazil. "For a long time the names of the forms related to margays . . . and tigrinas . . . were confused with each other, owing to their similarity in size and coloration, and it created doubts regarding the exact identity of the animals that bear these names." (PDF) "Taxonomic revision of The tigrina Leopardus tigrinus (Schreber, 1775) species group (Carnivora, Felidae)" / https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317570087_Taxonomic_revision_o…
Specimen Type:
Living/Live (presumably eventually taxidermied/preserved)
Peale's Common Name:
Margay Cat
Peale's Scientific Name:
Margay, Buff. Vol. XIII, p. 248 tab. 38; , Lin.
Current Common Name:
Margay
Current Scientific Name
Leopardus wiedii
