115 



first of" the series is smallest, and the third the largest ; the i()urtli was inter- 

 mediate ill size to the latter and the last one, which little exceeded tlie 

 second. 



The crown of the last molar in the specimen appears as if it had been 

 composed of an anterior pointed, or perhaps trenchant, lobe, and a large pos- 

 terior heel. 



The crown of the penultimate molar appears to have been nearly of the 

 same character. In the crown of the antepenultimate molar the posterior 

 heel forms a median acute ridge from which the sides slope toward the 

 bottom. The outer slope, nearly twice the depth of the inner, is bounded 

 behind by a ridge descending from the summit of the heel. The inner slope 

 is bordered by a basal ridge curving downward and forward from the summit. 



The canines, as indicated by portions of the alveoli, are large and powerful 

 teeth, as in feline animals. The alveoli are about ^ i'lch in diameter. 



The jaw has nearly the same form as in the panther, but is proportionately 

 shorter, and beneath the molar teeth of greater depth, in this respect resem- 

 bling more the condition in the striped hyena. The condyle has the same 

 form and relative position as in ordinary carnivora, but is thicker or of greater 

 extent on its articular surface fore and afl than in the panther. Its compara- 

 tive breadth is undeterminate, from its being broken at both ends in the 

 specimen. 



The back portion of the jaw is proportionately narrower than in the 

 panther; and the coronoid process, which appears to have had the same 

 f(jrm as in this, is likewise narrower. The masseteric fossa is not so deep as 

 ill ordinary carnivora. Extending from the coronoid downward, a little 

 below the level of the condyle, it becomes, rather abruptly shallower, and 

 from this position gradually lessens in depth toward the base, from which it 

 is not abruptly defined by a narrow ridge, as in the ordinary carnivora. 



The symphysis is strong, and the rami approaching it thick, as in the 

 pantlier. A group of seven mental foramina occupy a position at the side 

 of the symphysis. The largest of them, as in the panther, is situated outside 

 the back part of the canine alveolus. 



From the absence of the chai'acteristic portions of the teeth, the exact 

 relationship of Patriofelis is not clear. It is perhaps intermediate to the 

 feline and canine animals. 



