354 THE CARNIVORES 



The most distinctive feature of the skull of the Carnivores is to be found in 

 the mode of articulation of the lower jaw ; the condyle or projecting process by 

 which the latter hinges on to the skull proper, taking the form of a half cylinder, 

 elongated in the transverse direction. This half cylinder is received into a similarly- 

 shaped hollow the glenoid cavity in the skull, bounded by overhanging edges. 

 In consequence of this arrangement, the motion of the lower jaw of a Carnivore is 

 strictly limited to an up and down direction ; thus allowing only of a biting or 

 snapping action, and not permitting that rotatory or backward and forward move- 

 ment found in so many other Mammals. The interlocking of the lower jaw with 

 the skull is most marked in the badgers. 



A less important feature of the carnivorous skull is to be found in the circum- 

 stance that in the great majority of instances the orbit, or the cavity for the eye, is 

 not bounded posteriorly by a bar of bone so as to form a complete ring, but com- 

 municates freely with the greatly elongated hollow on the side of the skull which 

 contains the powerful muscles for working the jaws. Occasionally, however, as in 

 some cats and the ichneumons, the eye socket is completely surrounded by a bony 

 ring ; and a process at the back of the upper part of the cavity for the eye always 

 marks the posterior limit of that cavity. More constant is the presence of a strong 

 zygomatic arch bounding the inferior border of the socket of the eye, and connect- 

 ing the upper jaw with the region of the ear. 



An important feature distinguishing the skeleton of a Carnivore from that of 

 an Insectivore (with the exception of the potamogale) is that the collar bones or 

 clavicles are frequently absent, and when present are never complete ; that is to say, 

 that instead of each collar bone forming a bar to connect the shoulder blade with the 

 breastbone, as in ourselves, when it exists at all it merely forms a little splint of 

 bone embedded in the muscles of the chest between these two points. 



Two other features in regard to the skeleton must not be overlooked, since 

 they are of some help in distinguishing between Carnivores and Insectivores. In 

 many of the latter, as shown in the figure of the skeleton on p. 336, the two bones 

 of the fore-arm (radius and ulna), and of the lower leg (tibia and fibula) are 

 respectively united together, whereas in all the former they are completely 

 separate. In the fore-limb this separation of the two bones is essential in order to 

 permit of the free use of the paw. A characteristic of the wrist joint of all 

 Carnivores is that two of the bones of the upper row, respectively known as 

 the scaphoid and the lunar, are completely welded together ; and it may be added 

 that the central bone, which we have seen exists in all the lower Primates, is 

 invariably absent. Another feature distinguishing the Carnivores from the In- 

 sectivores is to be found in the well-marked convolutions on the upper surface 

 of the lobes of the brain, which is indicative of a far higher degree of mental 

 power. 



With the exception of Australia and New Zealand, Carnivores are distributed 

 over all the continents and larger islands of the globe, ranging from the icy ocean 

 of the Arctic circle to the tropical plains of Africa and India ; but while some of 

 the families, like the cats and dogs, have a distribution almost coextensive with 

 that of the order, others, like the civets and hyaenas, are much more restricted in 



