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editMay have been depicted as an ocelot? WTF? Ocelots are native to the New World, the Egyptians didn't even know they existed. 97.104.210.67 (talk) 20:00, 28 February 2010 (UTC)
Good point ... the same mistake in the reference book cited I have just looked it up ... but the Ocelot is a New World feline. I have deleted it. By the way, why complain on here when you can just delete anyway yourself????Apepch7 (talk) 21:19, 28 February 2010 (UTC)
The Oxford Essential Guide to Egyptian Mythology describes Mafdet as a Lynx quite specifically. Page 124.AaronCarson (talk) 08:53, 4 August 2013 (UTC)
- It does say that, but I still think there's some ambiguity there. The article in question, "Feline Deities" by Aleid de Jong, says "As Dale Osborn points out, the goddess Mafdet, who is often included in this list [of deities who are pictured as felines], does not belong there: she must be identified as a lynx rather than a cat." Members of the genus Lynx—the species we usually think of as lynxes—don't live in Egypt, and it doesn't look like they ever did. The word "lynx" can also refer to the jungle cat or the caracal, both of which do live in Egypt. More specific information is still needed.
- I looked up Dale Osborn, who seems to be an expert on mammal species in Egypt, but de Jong's article doesn't indicate where Osborn identified Mafdet's species. His book The Mammals of Ancient Egypt looks like a good candidate. If anyone can obtain it, maybe we can resolve the question of Mafdet's species, or at least get a clearer picture of the possibilities. A. Parrot (talk) 16:37, 5 August 2013 (UTC)