84 



VERTEBRATA : MAMMALIA. 



Of all the Garni vora probably none can be regarded as 

 uglier, in their general appearance, than the Hyenas or 

 Hyeiiadae. They have the fore legs longer than the hind 



FIG. 83. 



Hyena, Hyena vulgaris, Buffon. 



ones, the claws non-retractile, the feet four-toed, and the 

 tongue rough. Their premolars are very large and blunt ; 

 and these animals are able to crush the bones of very large 

 animals, and swallow the fragments without masticating 

 them. So powerful are the muscles of the neck and jaws 

 that it is next to impossible to wrest anything from be- 

 tween their teeth. 



Hyenas live in caves, are nocturnal in their habits, are 

 extremely voracious, and feed chiefly upon prey which 

 they find dead. They are emphatically the scavengers 

 among the Carnivora. They belong to Africa and Asia, 

 and are about five feet in length. Bones of Hyenas have 



