38o MAMMALIA 



Of the two hundred species, there are less than twenty in the United 



States. 



The commonest American species are the little brown bat {Myotis 

 lucifngus) which is less than four inches in length, and the brown bat 

 {Eptesicusfuscus) which is widely distributed throughout the United 

 States. The little red bat is a swift flyer and as active as a bird. 

 The gray bat is a large form reaching a length of three inches. It is 

 found in the United States and Canada. The big-eared bat has ears 

 half as long as its body and is found in the Southern States, 



One family {Molossidae) seems more like the rat, for it is ter- 

 restrial. 



Fossil Relatives of the Chiroptera. — Bats are known from the 

 Eocene of Colorado. 



Order V. Carnivora. — Clawed, furry mammals with at least 

 four digits. Incisors small; canines large, curved and pointed; 

 premolars and molars usually compressed; stomach simple, cecum 

 small. Tapetum lucidum of eye very shiny. Clavicle lost or 

 reduced, ulna and radius well developed. Teats abdominal, uterus 

 bi-cornuate, placenta deciduate, usually zonary. 



Sub-Order Fissipedia. — The cat family (Felidae) includes lions, 

 tigers, leopards, and the like. 



The " saber-tooth " cats were found in America and the Old 

 World in the Tertiary period. The great " saber-tooth " tiger 

 {Smilodon) was as large as our largest Kadiak bear. 



The puma, cougar or " mountain lion," an American form, once 

 ranged over the whole continent. It may reach a length of seven 

 feet and a weight of two hundred pounds. While it is stated that the 

 puma dreads mankind there are well-authenticated reports of at- 

 tacks on children and grown men. 



The jaguar is the largest and handsomest species of the cat 

 family in America. It is found as far North as Southern Texas. 

 It is an enemy of pigs, cattle, horses and wild mammals, but ap- 

 parently afraid of man. It may reach a body length of five feet 

 with a tail two feet long and weigh one hundred fifty pounds. (Figure 



2I3-) 



The ocelot or tiger cat, also found in Texas, is a small leopard, 

 with horizontal black stripes on a yellowish ground color. It is 

 about the size of a small spaniel and feeds on birds and arboreal 

 mammals. 



The Canada lynx is a small bob-tailed wild cat found in Quebec 



