BULLETIN FLORIDA MUSEUM NATURAL HISTORY VOL 40(3)


Further, the two genotypes are strongly partitioned geographically into the
southeastern (Everglades) and southwestern (Big Cypress) populations. The
presence or absence of the kinked tail followed a similar pattern, being present in
most Big Cypress cats and absent in the Everglades population. O'Brien and his
colleagues (1990) suggested the source of the Everglades genotype may have been
from seven captive cats released into the Everglades National Park between 1957
and 1967 (archives, National Park Service, Washington DC), from the Piper
collection of Everglades Wonder Gardens (Vanas 1976).
 A total of 45 panther deaths were documented in Florida between 1972 and
1990, most the result of road mortality, illegal kills, and intraspecific aggression
(Roelke 1990). This new material, preserved as specimens in the collections of the
Florida Museum of Natural History (FLMNH), provided an opportunity to review
physical traits described by earlier investigators. The objectives were to (1)
identify and quantify the traits that best describe the Florida population; (2)
compare the recent specimens to historic museum specimens (pre-1950) to
determine what changes, if any, have occurred over time as a result of isolation or
small population numbers; and (3) discern what morphological differences exist
within the Florida population that might correspond to the reported genetic
differences. In addition to the main objectives, we hoped to resolve some
troublesome identifications associated with cats killed outside the current known
range of the panther, which were thought to be captive released individuals.


 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

 This project was funded in part by the National Park Service (NPS) and the Florida Game and Fresh
Water Fish Commission (GFC). GFC also provided invaluable logistical support with the loan of a State
vehicle, arranged by James Brady, for the transport of the hundreds of pounds of equipment necessary to
conduct the color analysis.
 We are grateful to the many museum curators and collection staff who allowed one of us (Iw) to
examine specimens under their care, especially. C. Smart and T. Daeschler (Academy of Natural Sciences,
Philadelphia), G. Musser (American Museum of Natural History) D. Holmes (Arkansas Museum of Science
and History, Little Rock), P. Jenkins (British Museum of Natural History) Collier County (Florida)
Historical Society, J. Bayless (Everglades Regional Collection Center, National Park Service, Homestead
FL) B. Patterson and R. Izor (Field Museum of Natural History) M. Hafner (Museum of Zoology,
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge) M. Rutzmoser, J. Chupasko, and M. Massaro (Museum of
Comparative Zoology, Harvard University) M. Douglas (Oklahoma State University) M. Carleton and L
Gordon (National Museum of Natural History, Washington) P. Landers (Zoological Museum, University
Wisconsin), and numerous others who provided courteous assistance with loas, correspondence and
telephone inquiries. Access to skin collections was made more difficult because of the need to also
accommodate a 100 Ib spectrophotometer. We thank all those who facilitated this arduous task, especially
Linda Gordan (National Museum of Natural History) and Timothy McCarthy (then of the American
Museum of Natural History). Francisco Bisbal of Venezuela and Andr6s Novaro of Chile, students at
University of Florida, examined specimens in South American Museums while conducting their own
research. Jay Sylvester of the Milton Roy Corporation made the pelage color study possible by his generous
loan ofthe color spectrophotometer.
 Henry Setzer originally thought of the contour gauge as a measuring tool for the profile measurement;
he also assisted by examining specimens for me while on museum tours of his own. Linda Chandler, Laurie
Walz, and Wendy Zomlefer, produced the graphics. Oron L Bass, Jr. (National Park Service) provided