tiger-cat

Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris

n.


special name appliedto the Common and Spotted-tailed Native Cat.See under Cat.

1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' c. ii. p. 52:

«The skins of the . . . opossum, tiger-cat, and platypus. . . are exported.»

1852. Ronald C. Gunn, `Papers and Proceedings of the RoyalSociety of Van Diemen's Land,' vol. ii. p. 11:

« Dasyurus maculatus, Shaw. . . . The SpottedMartin, Phillip's `Voy. to Botany Bay, p. 276. MartinCat,' pl. 46. `Tiger Cat' of the Colonists of Tasmania,to which island it is confined. It is distinguished from D. viverrinus, the `Native Cat' of the Colonists,by its superior size and more robust form; also fromthe tail being spotted as well as the body.»

1891. `Guide to the Zoological Gardens, Melbourne':

«After the opossums comes a specimen of the tiger-cat( Dasyurus maculatus); this animal, which is sodestructive to poultry, is well known throughout thecountry in Victoria.»

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