90 Game of Europe, W. & N. Asia & America 



was made by the present writer.^ So far as regards the perfect distinctness 

 of the black bears of North America from their brown and grey com- 

 patriots, the views of Dr. Merriam were followed in this contribution, 

 although only a single specific type of the former was admitted. On the 

 other hand, all the American bears classed by Dr. Merriam in the same 

 SLibgeneric group as the European brown bear were considered to be 

 nothing more than local phases of that species. From this view the 

 writer has seen no reason to depart, and it is accordingly adhered to in 

 the present volume. It may be added, that in some of the North 

 American brown bears the claws on the fore-feet are longer and straighter 

 than in their Old World relatives, but since this character is not common 

 to all the former it cannot be taken as a feature by means of which they 

 can be collectively separated as a species from the latter. Of course, all 

 the American brown bears are isolated from their representatives in the 

 eastern hemisphere, but such isolation, in the opinion ot the present 

 writer, does not by any means necessarily imply specific distinction. 



In a work of the present nature it would be entirely superfluous to 

 give the characteristics of bears in general, especially as there are no 

 animals in the area here treated of with which they could possibly be 

 confounded. It may, however, be as well to mention that in all the 

 bears here described the full number of teeth is normally forty- two. 

 The three anterior pairs of cheek-teeth, that is to say, those situated 

 behind the tusks, or canines, in both jaws, are, however, small and almost 

 or completely functionless. Consequently several ot them are usually 

 shed before the attainment of maturity, so that the number ot teeth in 

 an adult skull is generally only from thirty-six to thirty-eight, or even 

 less. 



It may be added that in all European, North Asiatic, and North 

 American bears save the white polar species, the cheek-teeth are large 



' Proceedings Zoo/ogh/!/ Society of London, 1S97, p. 412. 



