2 2 LLOYDS NATURAL HISTORY. 



remarkable that, whereas the typical Cats (Felis) are unknown 

 in Europe before the middle of the Miocene division of the 

 Tertiary period, and in North America not earlier than the 

 Upper Miocene or Lower Pliocene, in France the apparently 

 more specialised sabre-toothed Tigers (Machcerodus) are met 

 with in the Quercy Phosphorites belonging to the antecedent 

 Oligocene division of the Tertiary. 



At the present day, as we have seen, the nearest relations 

 of the Felidce appear to be the Civets ( Viverridce) ; the aberrant 

 Cryptoprocta of Madagascar being the most Cat-like form 

 among the latter. Both these groups agree in 'the general 

 structure of the base of the skull, while the teeth of the Cryp- 

 toprocta are practically indistinguishable from those of the 

 Felidce. From this structural resemblance, coupled with the 

 common occurrence of Civet-like animals in the earlier Tertiary 

 strata of Europe, it has been generally considered that the Cats 

 have taken origin from Carnivora more or less closely allied 

 to the Civets. There exists, however, a group of extinct car- 

 nivorous Mammals known as Creodonts, the teeth of which 

 differ markedly in structure from those of the existing members 

 of the Order; and it has been recently suggested by North 

 American Palaeontologists that the Felidce have originated from 

 one of these Creodonts quite independently of the other existing 

 Carnivora. If this should prove well-founded, the resemblances 

 existing between the skulls and teeth of the Cats and Civets 

 would be due to what is known as parallelism in development, 

 and the apparent relationship existing between the two groups 

 merely an instance of what is termed convergence. Without, 

 however, denying the possibility that the American Palaeonto 

 logists may be correct, the writer would submit that mo** 

 decisive evidence is required before it can be definitely ac- 

 cepted that there is no intimate relationship between the Cats 

 and the Civets. 



