The Indian Lion 



spotted instead of a striped animal. An important 

 difference in regard to the relations of the bones of 

 the face distinguishes the two species. In the skull 

 of a lion the nasal bones, which form the roof of 

 the chamber of the nose, terminate superiorly on 

 the forehead on the same horizontal line as do the 

 upper extremities of the maxillas, or upper jaw-bones. 

 In the tiger's skull, on the other hand, the nasals 

 reach considerably higher on the forehead than the 

 maxillas. 



The lower jaws of the two animals are also dis- 

 tinguishable by the contour of the lower border of 

 each lateral half. These are by no means the only 

 differences. Compared with that of a tiger, the great 

 upper carnassial, or flesh-tooth, of the lion has the 

 tubercle near the front extremity of the inner side 

 markedly smaller ; the lion in this respect approaching 

 nearer to the great extinct sabre-toothed tigers than 

 does its striped relative. 



An interesting paper on the occurrence of the lion in 

 Greece during the historic period, by Dr. A. B, Meyer, 

 appeared in Der Zoologische Garten^ vol. xliv. pp. 65-78, 

 1903 ; a translation being published in the Smithsonian 

 Report for the same year, pp. 661-667. 



To the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal for 

 1867 Dr. W. T. Blanford contributed some important 

 notes on the distribution of the lion in India ; while in 

 the Proceedings of the same Society for 1 8 8 i Prof. V. 

 Ball directed attention to a forgotten record of the 

 occurrence of the lion in Palamow. 



293 



