82 



VERTEBRATA : MAMMALIA. 



dental formula is, incisors jg, canines H ? premolars and 

 molars *~ or ||. The feet are digitigrade, with five toes 

 before and four behind. The soles are densely hairy, with 

 naked pads on the ball of the foot and under each toe. 

 The cushion-like nature of the bottom of their feet enables 

 these animals to noiselessly approach their prey, which 

 they seize by a sudden spring. 



The true Cats have a long and tapering tail, which in 

 the Lion is tufted, and the molars are g. Such are the 

 Lion of Africa and Asia, an animal whose body is eight 

 feet long and whose body is of a tawny-yellow ; the Royal 

 Tiger of India, even longer than the Lion, and of a lively 



FIG. 81. 



Puma, Fdis concolor, Linnaeus. 



fawn color, beautifully striped with black ; the Jaguar of 

 South America, somewhat smaller than the Tiger, and of 

 a brownish-yellow color beautifully marked with rosette- 

 like figures on the sides ; the Panther of Africa and India, 

 of a fawn color with six or seven rows of black spots or 



