256 THE ANIMALS AND MAN 



closely allied to the wolf. "Most carnivorous of the 

 carnivora, formed to devour, with every offensive weapon 

 specialized to its utmost, the Felidae, whether large or small, 

 are, relatively to their size, the fiercest, strongest, and most 

 terrible of beasts." The Felidse or cat family includes the 

 lions, tigers, hyenas, leopards, jaguars, panthers, wildcats, 

 and lynxes. In this country the most formidable of the 

 Felidae is the American panther or puma (Felis concolor}. 

 It reaches a length from nose to root of tail of over four feet. 

 Its tail is long. The wildcat (Lynx rufus) is much smaller 

 and has a short tail. 



The man-like mammals (Primates). --The primates, 

 the highest order of mammals, include the lemurs, monkeys, 

 baboons, apes, and men. Man (Homo sapiens) is the only 

 native representative of this order in our country. All the 

 races and kinds of men' known, although really showing 

 much variety in appearance and body structure, are com- 

 monly included in one species. The chief structural 

 characteristics which distinguish man from the other members 

 of this order are the great development of his brain and the 

 non-opposability of his great toe. Despite the similarity 

 in general structure between him and the anthropoid apes 

 of the Old World, in particular the chimpanzee and orang- 

 outang, the disparity in size of brain is enormous. 



The lowest Primates are the lemurs, found in Madagas- 

 car, in which island they include about one-half of all the 

 mammalian species found there. The brain is much less 

 developed in the lemurs than in any of the other mon- 

 keys. The monkeys and apes may be divided into two 

 groups, the lower, platyrrhine monkeys, found in the New 

 World, and the higher, catarrhine forms, limited to the Old 

 World. The platyrrhine monkeys have wide noses in 

 which the nostrils are separated by a broad septum and 

 with the openings directed laterally. These monkeys are 

 mostly smaller and weaker than the Old World forms and 



