VERTEBRATA. 101 
which the chief families are the Felide,! including all the cat kind, the 
lion, tiger, leopard, lynx, &c.; the Canide,? of which dogs, foxes, and 
jackals are examples ; Ht Penis. to which uN hyzena belongs; Vanerrides 
of which the civet is the best known example; and M mene the es 
tribe, including the ermine, marten, ferret, polecat, otter, &«. The most 
fierce and exclusively carnivorous quadrupeds belong to the orders Felide, 
Viverride, and Mustelide. The third section of the Carnivora in Cuvier’s 
system is called Amphibia, and consists of seals, sea-elephants, the walrus, 
and similar animals, all marine, and having their feet adapted mainly for 
swimming, their teeth and digestive system for preying upon fish. The 
sea-elephant is more than twice the size of the largest African or Indian 
elephant.—The order Marsupialia® is distinguished by the pouch in which 
the females carry their young, the young being produced at an earlier 
stage than in other mammals. It is a curious fact that almost all the 
quadrupeds of Australia belong to this order, whereas elsewhere almost the 
‘only marsupial animals in the world are the opossums of America. Opos- 
sums and kangaroos are the kinds of which the names are most familiar 
to us, but there are many others, some of which are herbivorous and 
some-carnivorous. The Marsupialia seem to be generally inferior to other 
mammals in intelligence.—The order Rodentia® consists of quadrupeds 
which have the front teeth—two in each jaw—large and of a peculiar 
structure, chisel-like, so as specially to adapt them for gnawing. Hares, 
rabbits, rats, mice, squirrels, and beavers are familiar examples of this 
order, the species of which are very numerous, and all of them small 
animals.——The order Hdentata’ is composed of animals, some of which 
are absolutely destitute of teeth, whilst others have small teeth only in 
the back part of their jaws. To this order belong sloths, armadillos, and 
ant-eaters, animals of very various habits, and differing in the nature of 
their food, yet exhibiting a general similarity of structure. 
The Ungulata or hoofed quadrupeds are divided into two orders, 
Pachydermata® and Ruminantia.® The first of these orders contains 
elephants, tapirs, rhinoceroses, the hippopotamus, hogs, &c., all charac- 
terised by remarkable thickness of skin, and all feeding on vegetable 
food, although in other characters there is great diversity. To this 
order belong the largest of land animals. A section of the order very 
distinct fein the rest, characterised by undivided hoofs, contains the 
horse tribe, the horse, ass, zebra, &c. The Ruminantia are the only 
animals in which the habit of ee, the cud is found. All of them are 
1 From Latin felis, a cat. 7 Latin, ‘toothless,’ from e, without, and dens, 
2 From Latin canis, a dog. dentis, a tooth. 
3 From Latin viverra, a ferret. 8 From Greek pachys, thick, and derma, skin. 
4¥rom Latin mustela, a polecat. 9 Latin, ‘chewing the cud,’ from rwmino, to chew 
5 From Latin marsupium, a pouch. again. 
6 Latin, ‘ gnawers,’ from rodo, to gnaw. 
