28 LLOYD’S MMTURAL HISTORY. 
especially in the Lioness. Skull connected with the arch of 
the hyoid bone (supporting the base of the tongue) by a pair 
of long ligaments. In the Lion the superior extremities of 
the nasal bones do not extend so far backwards as the frontal 
processes of the maxilla, or upper jaw-bones ; whereas in the 
Tiger the former reach far behind the latter. In the Lion’s 
skull, again, the fronto-parietal suture is separated by a much 
shorterinterval from the post-orbital process ; so that the former, 
as Mr. W. L. Sclater remarks, may be termed a short-waisted 
skull, as compared with that of the Tiger. A further difference 
between the two animals is to be found in the smaller develop- 
ment of the inner tubercle of the upper carnassial tooth of the 
Lion, as compared with that of the Tiger. The total length 
reached by large full-grown males is about ten feet, of which 
rather more than three feet is occupied by the tail. 
In the male Lion the mane commences to grow at about 
three years of age, and does not attain its full dimensions till 
the completion of the sixth year. The mane in specimens 
kept in menageries attains a far greater development than it 
ever reaches in the wild state ; the fringe of hair on the middle 
of the lower surface of the body, so commonly found in mena- 
gerie Lions, being peculiar to them. Unlike the majority of 
the Family, Lion cubs are born with their eyes open. 
As regards coloration, the Lion may be regarded as a more 
specialised animal than the Tiger, which it otherwise very 
closely resembles; while the mane of the male and the tail- 
tuft of both sexes are likewise specialised features. There is 
some considerable degree of variation in the colour of the 
coat, as well as in the degree of blackness and length of the 
mane. As arule, specimens kept in menageries have a marked 
reddish tinge in the coat ; whereas many wild specimens have 
a very pale yellow or even a silvery-grey hue. In South Africa, 
Messrs. Nicolls and Eglington remark that in some instances 
