BEARS 593 



under surface of the sole of the foot is completely devoid of hair ; and the ordinary 

 gait is peculiarly slow and measured. All the bears are of considerable bodily size, 

 while some of them are among the largest of the Carnivores. 



The living species of bears, with which alone we are at present dealing, are 

 likewise readily distinguished from other Carnivores by the characteristics of their 

 teeth. They agree with the true dogs in having two pairs of molars in the upper 

 jaw, and three pairs in the lower jaw, but the shape of these teeth is different ; the 

 crowns being nearly flat, very broad, and mainly adapted for grinding, while those 

 of the upper jaw are either oblong or square, and, therefore, quite unlike the 

 triangular upper molars of the dogs. Then, again, the flesh-tooth in both jaws is 

 very unlike that of ordinary Carnivores; the upper one being small, and having no 

 inner root, and its crown looking much like that of a molar. Similarly, the lower 

 flesh-tooth (which we may once more remind our readers is the first of the molar 

 series, while the upper one is a premolar) is very like the two molars by which it is 

 followed. A third distinctive feature is that the first three premolar teeth in both 

 jaws are exceedingly minute, and are very generally shed when their owner attains 

 maturity. 



The peculiar characteristics of the cheek-teeth clearly indicate that the food of 

 the bears is very different from that of other Carnivores ; and, as a matter of fact, the 

 majority of these animals subsist on a vegetable diet, or on insects, to a much 

 greater extent than on flesh. From their evident descent (as we shall fully indicate 

 later on) from dog-like animals, it is clear that the peculiar features of the dentition 

 of the bears have been acquired ; and we may hence regard these animals, so far as 

 their teeth are "concerned, as highly specialized. The loss of the tail is likewise a 

 specialized feature. On the other hand, in their retention of the old-fashioned planti- 

 grade mode of walking, bears are much more generalized animals than dogs, and 

 in this respect retain a feature which was present in the ancestral types from which 

 the two groups have sprung. 



The whole of the members of the family have a marked resemblance to one 

 another, so that the characteristics by which the different species are distinguished 

 are apparently somewhat trivial. Their fur is coarse, and generally long, thick, and 

 shaggy, although it may be short and thinner in some of the tropical species. Ex- 

 cept for the not unfrequent presence of a white collar round the throat, the fur is 

 nearly always of one color, and generally some shade of either brown or black. It 

 is true, indeed, that the Polar bear is a marked exception to this rule, but in this 

 case the color of the fur has evidently been specially modified to suit the natural 

 surroundings. The great prevalence of black among the bears is a feature un- 

 known in any other group of Carnivores, and is, indeed, rare among Mammals in 

 general. 



Bears have a wide geographical distribution, occuring throughout Europe, 

 Asia, and North America, while one species inhabits the South-American Andes, 

 and^mother the African Atlas. South, however, of the Atlas not a single member 

 of the family is to be found throughout the length and breadth of Africa. Geolog- 

 ically speaking, true bears, that is to say, those which can be referred to the genera 

 now living, are of comparatively recent origin, none being yet known before the 

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