THE CAT TRIBE 



355 



their range. Exclusive of the larger Man-like Apes, the Carnivores include the 

 largest of the so-called Unguiculate Mammals, that is, those in which the toes are 

 furnished with claws or nails, in contradistinction to hoofs. As is usually the case, 

 the largest representatives of the order are to be found in the aquatic section, where 

 we have the walrus and elephant seal. Among the terrestrial Carnivores the largest 

 species are to be found in the warmer parts of the globe, although the bears form, 

 to a certain extent, an exception to this rule. The more typical and purely carniv- 

 orous terrestrial members of the order, which, as a general rule, subsist on the 

 flesh of animals killed by themselves, are characterized by the elegance and neatness 

 of their build, and their bodily strength and activity, as well as by the fierceness of 

 their disposition. 



The terrestrial, or, as they are often called, in allusion to their free -toes, the 

 Fissipede Carnivores, are, as a rule, adapted for a life on land, although some forms, 

 like the otters, pass a large portion of their time in the water. In no instance, 

 however, are their fore-limbs modified so as to assume the form of flippers, neither 

 do their hind-limbs ever present the peculiar structure characteristic of those 

 of the seals, being, on the contrary, invariably suited for walking with ease on the 

 ground. Of more importance, however, is the structure of the teeth of the land 

 Carnivores. In the 

 first place, the pres- 

 ence of three pairs 

 of incisor teeth in 

 both the upper and 

 the lower jaw is an 

 extremely constant 

 feature. Then, 

 again, instead of 

 the uniformity 

 pervading the 

 whole series of 

 cheek-teeth, which 

 we shall find to be 

 characteristic of 

 the seals and their 

 allies, the cheek- 

 teeth of the terres- 

 trial Carnivores of 



the present epoch are distinguished by having one of their number on each side of 

 both the upper and the lower jaw modified in a special manner so as to bite against 

 one another in a more or less markedly scissor-like fashion. The tooth in the upper 

 jaw thus specially modified is the last of those which have milk, or deciduous pred- 

 ecessors, and is thus the fourth of the premolar series in those species where four 

 of those teeth are developed. This is shown in the accompanying figure of the 

 skull of the fox, where the fourth upper tooth (pm.q) behind the tusk is the one 

 specially modified. In the lower jaw, however, in those forms which have the full 



SIDE VIEW OF THE SKUI,!, OF THE COMMON FOX. 



To show the nature of the teeth of a Carnivore. The upper flesh-tooth is lettered 

 pm. 4, and the lower flesh-tooth m. i. (After Huxley, Proc. Zool. Soc.) 



