130 JAWS AND TEETH OF LION. 
eminently carnivorous in their diet, and destructive in their mode of obtaining food, their 
bodily form is most exquisitely adapted to carry out the instincts which are implanted in 
their nature. 
All the members of the cat tribe are light, stealthy, and silent of foot, quick of ear and 
eye, and swift of attack. Most of them are possessed of the power of climbing trees or 
rocks, but some few species, such as the Lion, are devoid of this capability. 
The teeth of the exclusively carnivorous animals are always of a form which permits 
them to seize and tear their prey, but does not give them the power of masticating their 
food after the manner of the vegetable feeders. We are all familiar with the mode in 
which the domestic cat consumes her food, whether it be a piece of butchers’ meat which 
is given to her by the hand of man, or a mouse which she has captured by her own paws. 
Instead of the grinding process which is employed by monkeys and other creatures whose 
teeth are fitted for grinding their food, the cat tears the meat imto conveniently sized 
morsels, and then eats the food by a series of pecking bites. 
The annexed engraving of a Lion’s teeth and jaws will explain the reason for this 
mode of action. 
None of the teeth are furnished with the flat surfaces which are necessary for grinding 
the substances which may be placed 
between them; and this inability does 
not lie only in the teeth, but extends to 
the very framework of the jaws. As may 
be seen on reference to the engraving, 
the lower jaw is so largely developed at 
its base, and fits so deeply into its socket, 
that lateral motion is impossible. 
In order to give a more perfect 
view of the lower jaw-bone, the bone 
immediately above it has been removed, 
and presents only its cut surface. This 
part of the structure is scientifically 
known as the “malar,” or cheek- 
bone, and forms an arch, which has 
been termed the “zygomatic” arch. In 
JAWS AND TEETH OF LION, the carnivorous, and more especially in 
the feline animals, this bone is extremely 
large in proportion, and is increased in 
strength by its very decided curve. The great size, as well as the peculiar form of this 
bone, are required for the purpose of affording protection to the enormously powerful 
muscles by means of which these animals are enabled to tear their food, and also for the 
attachment of certain jaw-moving muscles. There is an upward as well as an outward 
curve in the malar bone, which gives strength precisely in the direction where it is most 
required. 
On reference to the skeleton of the Lion, many curious structures will be seen. It 
would be impossible in the present volume to give a detailed history of even one portion 
of the bony framework around which the moving and vital organs of the Lion are 
arranged, Only a short description, therefore, will be here given ; and in order to proceed 
methodically, we will start from the head. 
The teeth and jaws have already been mentioned. On the top of the skull there runs 
a tolerably high bony crest, which reaches its greatest elevation at the very back of the 
head. This bone-ridge is intended for the attachment of the powerful muscles which 
raise the head, and enable the animal to perform its wonderful feats of strength. 
Pausing awhile at this portion of the animal’s form, and directing our view to the 
interior of the skull, a curious internal ridge of bone is seen, which arises to some little 
height, and separates the two great divisions of the brain from each other. In the cat 
tribe, this ridge arises entirely from that part of the skull which is known by the name 
of the “parietal bone ;” but in other carnivorous animals, the “occipital bone” is the 
