Tabby cat is also comparable to the Spanish word "ataviar", which means "to decorate or to dress or wear" and often implies luxurious clothing. Usage of the term "tabby cat ," which means "one with a striped coat", began in the 1690s and was later shortened to "tabby" in 1774. The notion that tabby is indicative of a female cat may be a reference to the feminine proper name Tabby, as a shortened form of Tabitha. There are four tabby patterns that have been shown to be genetically distinct: Mackerel, Classic, Spotted, and Ticked. A fifth includes tabby as part of another
Atka mackerel roughly a year before his death. Atka mackerel were once considered to be synonymous with Arabesque greenlings. The combined species would have been called the Okhotsk Atka mackerel, a name now used only for the greenling. The two fishes are, in reality, two distinct species. Able to live up to 14 years, the largest Atka mackerel recorded was 56.5 cm long; the heaviest recorded weight was 2.0 kg. Adults have five vertical, blackish bands on their bodies, which are normally yellowish. Atka mackerel can be distinguished from other, similar species by the number of spines and rays that they have