Scientific Intelligence. — Zoology. 369 



bear evident marks of the teeth of hyenas. Excrements of 

 these animals were also found in the caves. The facts announ- 

 ced by M. de Christol appeared to M. Cordier to be of the 

 greatest importance. If they are correct, they must be con- 

 sidered as more conclusive in favour of a mixture of human 

 bones with remains of antediluvian animals, than those fur- 

 nished by the examination of the Bize caves. It is in fact well 

 known, that the inferences drawn from the examination of these 

 latter have been contested. 



19. European Beaver. — An interesting account of a colony 

 of European beavers has lately appeared in the Memoirs of the 

 Society of the Friends of Natural History of Berlin. This colony 

 occurs in the forest district of Gruneberg, in Magdeburg, in Prus- 

 sia. The habits and manners of these animals agree with what 

 has been related by Heai'ne and Cartwright of the beavers of 

 America. Like the beavers of the New World, they build dams, 

 live on vegetable food, are deadly enemies to the otter, — hence 

 useful in rivers in preserving fishes. They have been almost 

 entirely extirpated from Eastern Prussia, but in Western Prus- 

 sia, as at the Mone, near Arensberg, there are still considerable 

 colonies of them. 



20. Original of the Cat and Dog. — In Riippell's interesting 

 atlas to his Travels in Northern Africa, we find a description of 

 several new species of cat and dog. Of the genus Felis^ two 

 species are figured and described ; the F. maniculata and F. 

 chaus, Liild. For the discovery of the former of these, we are 

 indebted to M. Riippell, who regards it as the original stock 

 from which the domestic cat of the Egyptians was derived, and 

 wlience probably also sprung the house cat of Europe. In this 

 opinion he has been followed by M. Temminck. The character 

 of the species, as given by Dr Cretzschmar, is as follows : 

 " Felis colore griseo-ochraceo ; genis coUoque antico albis, hoc 

 lineis ochraceis duabus cincto ; planta pedum, metacarpi et me- 

 tatarsi parte posteriore nigris ; cauda gracili, aequali, ad apiccm 

 annulis nigris duobus." It was obtained in Nubia, on the 

 western side of the Nile, at Ambukol. Not less than seven spe- 



