The Fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma - Mammalia - Volume 1 - Fishing Cat (Prionailurus viverrinus)

Aug 27, 2026

Taxonomic account of the Fishing Cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) in British India and adjacent regions, covering nomenclature, type locality, and distribution from India through Ceylon to eastern mainland and Java. Diagnostic external characters are compared with P. bengalensis, with emphasis on size, tail proportion, webbing, claw sheathing, coat texture, and stripe/spot patterning. Geographic variation, dated skins, and skull differences are described alongside summarized measurements from museum specimens.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages4

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Prionailurus viverrinus (Fishing Cat)

Nomenclature and references

Type locality and distribution

External distinguishing characters

Variation, dated specimens, and absence of local races

Skull differences and measurements

The Fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma, Mammalia – Volume 1 Pocock, R.I. Taylor and Francis, London, pp 281-284 1839 Prionailurus viverrinus Bennet. The Fishing Cat Felis vivverinus, Beneett, Proc. Zoo. Soc. 1883 p 68; and of most recent authors including Jerdon and Blanford Felis himalayanus, Jardine, Nat. Libr., Feline, p 230, pl 1834 Felis viverriceps, Hodgson, Journ. As. Soc. Beng. v. p.282 1836 Viverriceps benettii, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1867. p268 . Locality of the type if viverrinus,“ India” probably the Malabar coast; of Himalayan of bennettii,“India” Distribution: India: precise range unknown; Ceylon, and east of the Bay of Bengal to Cochin China, and Java. Distinguished in external characteristics from P. bengalensis by its much larger size, shorter tail- which is a good deal less than the half length of the head and body- less completely webbed feet, and incompletely sheathed claws, the points of which normally project beyond the hairs of the paws; the coat also is on the average harsher, and the pattern although exbiting the same general arrangement, is subject to much less variation. The marked differences in the skull between the two specie are described below. The general colour varies from deep olivaceous tawny above and grayish on the flanks to tolerably uniformly yellower tawny or nearly ashy grey, without any bright hue. In the pattern the stripes may be comparatively broad, especially on shoulders or narrow, and the spots on the flanks may be roundish or lineate. the tail is the same tint above as the back spotted at the base and banded distally; the limbs are about the same tint as the flanks, and the pattern extends to the wrist and hook. The underside is white, with heavy pattern forming two collars on the throat and transverse bars behind the fore legs on the chest. Despite the extensive geographical range of the species, there appear to be no distinguishable local races. Skins resembling each other occur in widely separated areas, and skins from the same districts may differ considerably from one another. For instance the type, probably from the Western Ghats *, is a dark skin with with bold pattern, and is indistinguishable from three skins collected near Batavia in Java. Equally dark, but with rather finer pattern, is a skin from Barkot DehraDun 5000ft. ( Capt. F.S. Tucker), and one probably from North India ( Lord Ripon) . But two skins from Nepal ( Hodgson), are paler tawnier, one being paler and greyer tawny than the other. One skin from Sehwan, Sind ( Capt. Watson), is decidedly twny rather richer than tawnier of the two o from Nepal, but another from Mirpur, Sind ( Commander J.P.Walker. R.N.) is pale olivaceous grey, with no tawny tint. Nearest to this comes a skin from Kathalai, E. P. Ceylon ( W.W. W. Phillips), which has however a light tawny wash on the back. Another skin from Kandy ( Whyte) is still tawnier, very like the tawny skin from sind. From countries outside British India limits there are two skins from Nhatrang Annam ( Dr. Vassll), one matching the tawnier of the Neeplease skins the other being tawnier than the tawny Sind skin but a skin from Cochin China is dark olivaceous tawny like the type and Javan skins. Of the above mentioned skins only two are dated, the one from Kanthalai, July 30, and the one from Mirpur, Sind Dec. 24. Both are pale, despite the differences in the time of year. Hece there are no data justifying the conclusion that the differences to tint are seasonal. It is noticeable that apart from the type, which like the Javanese skins, has a bold pattern, the skins from British India have on the average, a finer pattern of narrower stripes dorsally and streak like, lineate spots on the flanks. The only measurements of this species certainly taken in the flesh are those recorded by Phillips from Ceylonese specimens. These however, agree very closely with some dimensions given by Jardine and Hodgson ofunsexed Himalayan specime

FAQs

What is the geographic distribution described for Prionailurus viverrinus?

The text states a distribution across India with precise range unknown, extending to Ceylon and east of the Bay of Bengal to Cochin China and Java.

Which characters distinguish the Fishing Cat from P. bengalensis?

Distinctions include much larger size, shorter tail with less than half the head-and-body length, less webbed feet, incompletely sheathed claws, and a generally harsher coat with different skull characteristics.

Does the document support seasonal or local-race variation in tint?

It notes no data justifying a seasonal explanation, and despite wide geography it suggests there are no distinguishable local races based on the available evidence and specimen comparisons.

Aug 27, 2026

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