M 



FELID^. 



FENNEC. 



802 



knife and saw, whilst the apex in making the first incision acted like 

 tne two-edged point of a sabre, the backward curvature of the full- 

 grown teeth enabled them to retain like barbs the prey whose 

 quivering flesh they penetrated. Three of these canine teeth were 

 discovered by the Kev. Mr. Mac Euery in Kent's Hole, Torquay, and 

 were recognised by Dr. Buckland as bearing a close resemblance to 

 the canines of the Ursua cidtridens of the Val d'Arno. Professor 

 Nesti, to whom Dr. Buckland transmitted casts of these teeth, 

 recognised the same resemblance, but noticed their proportionably 

 greater breadth. The cast of one of the largest of the canines of the 

 Afachairodiu cultrident from the Val d'Arno, presented to Professor 

 Owen by Mr. Pentland, measures eight inches and a half in length along 

 the anterior curve, and one inch and a half in breadth at the base of 

 the crown. The largest of the canines of the Machairodui from Kent's 

 Hole measures six inches along the anterior curve and one inch two 

 lines across the base of the crown. The English specimens are also 

 thinner or more compressed in proportion to their breadth, especially 

 at the anterior part of the crown, which is sharper than in the 

 Machairodut cultridens. (Owen.) 



These differences are so constant and well marked in the British 

 specimens that Professor Owen has proposed for them the above 

 specific name. 



We here figure a tooth of Meyaloiaurut, a tooth of Macliairodus 

 cultridcns), and a cast of another, from specimens in the 

 Museum of the Geological Society of London. 



n, tooth, imperfect below, natural size ; b, outline of cast of tooth, perfect, 

 half natural size ; r, tooth of Mrgalosanrus, naturul size. 



Hitherto no parts of the skeleton of M. lalidcnt have been found in 

 Ka^'land go as to throw any additional light on the organisation of 

 thin once formidable beast'of prey. It must have however equalled, 

 or nearly equalled, in bulk the Spelaean Tiger. " When we are 

 informed," says Professor Owen, "that in gome districts of India 

 entire villages have been depopulated by the destructive incursions 

 of a single species of large feline animal, the Tiger, it is hardly con- 

 ceivable that man in an early and rude condition of society could 

 have registed the attacks of the more formidable Tiger, Bear, and 

 Macltatrodiu of the Cave epoch. And this consideration may lead us the 

 more readily to receive the negative evidence of the absence of well- 

 authenticated human fossil remains ; and to conclude that man did 

 not exigt in the land which waa ravaged simultaneously by three 

 Huch formidable Carnivora, aided in their work of destruction by 

 troopg of Ravage hytcnas." 



The following is a list of the species of Felii to be seen in the 

 Zoological Gardens, Regent's Park : 



HAT. HI8T. D1V. YOU H. 



F. Leo, var. Goojmttensis, Smee ; F. Leo, Linn. "I , . 

 Morocco, Nubia, Ushantee, Mozambique . . J 



F. Tiyrii, Linn. Goa, Baroda, Bengal . . Tiger. 



7' T . Oiifa, Linn. Orinoco, Amazon . . . Jaguar. 



F. Pardus, Linn. Western Africa, South 

 Africa, Ceylon, India, Malacca . . . ; 



F. Leopardui, Schreber. Morocco . . . Panther (?). 



F. jubata, Sch. Nubia, South Africa . . Cheetah. 



F. pardalis, Linn. South America . . . Ocelot. 



F. mitis, F. Cuvier. South America . . Ocelot. 



F. mdanura, Ball. Demerara . . . . Ocelot. 



F. (?). Peru Ocelot. 



F. macrocelis. Java . . . . . Riman-Dihan. 



F. Tigrina, Schreber. South America . . Ocelot. 



F, Serval, Schreber. South Africa . . . Serval. 



F. Servalina, Ogilby. Gambia . . . Western Serval. 



F. vivemna, Bennett. Bengal . . . . Wagati. 



F. Cham, Guldenstedt. Egypt . . . Marsh Cat. 



F. Caracal, Schreber. Gambia, Bombay, Nubia Caracal. 



P. Canadensia, Geoffrey. North America . Canadian Lynx. 



F. concolor, Linn. North America, Chili, "I T, 

 Amazon _|iuma. 



F. Eyra, Desmarest. Paraguay (?) . . Eyra. 



FELIS. [FELIM.] 



FELSPAR, a Mineral which occurs in every part of the earth, and 

 is one of the constituents of granite. 



It occurs crystalline and massive. The primary form of the crystal 

 is an oblique rhombic prism. Colour white, gray, green, red, of diffe- 

 rent shades. Transparent, translucent, or opaque. Lustre vitreous. 

 Specific gravity, 2'5 to 2'6. Hardness, 6'0. Streak grayish-white. 

 Cleavage parallel to the terminal plane and oblique diagonal. Frac- 

 ture conchoidal, uneven. There are several varieties. That known 

 by the name of Adularia occurs in large crystals, especially in Mont 

 St. Gothard. JMoon&tone is a variety which has a pearly lustre, and 

 when cut and polished is chatoyant ; the finest specimens of this are 

 from Ceylon. Kuiatone is similar, but contains minute scales of mica. 

 Arenturite Felspar often owes its iridescence to minute crystals of 

 specular or titanic iron. The massive varieties are amorphous. 

 Structure granular, compact. A green variety has been found in 

 Siberia. The several varieties differ but little in composition. 

 Adularia, which is one of the purest varieties, according to Vauquelin, 

 consists of : 



Silica 

 Alumina 

 Potash 

 Lime . 



64 

 20 

 14 

 2 

 100 



Felspar is distinguished from Scapolite by its more difficult fusi- 

 bility, and by a slight tendency to a fibrous appearance in the cleavage- 

 surface of the latter, especially in massive varieties ; from Spardunmro 

 by its blow-pipe characters. Felspar is one of the constituents of 

 granite, gneiss, mica-slate, porphyry, and basalt, and often occurs in 

 these rocks in crystals. Dana says St. Lawrence county, New York, 

 affords fine crystals ; also Orange county, New York ; Haddam and 

 Middletown, Connecticut ; South Royalston and Barre, Massachusetts ; 

 besides numerous other localities. Green Felspar occurs at Mount 

 Desert, Maine ; an Aventurine Felspar at Leyperville, Pennsylvania ; 

 Adularia at Haddam and Norwich, Connecticut ; and Parsonsfield, 

 Maine. A Fetid Felspar (sometimes called Necronite) is found at 

 Roger's Rock, Essex county; at Thomson's Quarry, nearl98th-street, 

 New York city, and twenty-one miles from Baltimore. Carlsbad and 

 Elbrogen in Bohemia; Baveno in Piedmont; St. Gothard; Arendal 

 in Norway ; Land's End, England ; and the Mourn Mountains, Ireland, 

 are some of the more interesting localities. The name Felspar is a 

 German word, ' feld ' meaning field. 



Felspar is used extensively in the manufacture of porcelain. 

 Moonstone and Sunstone are often set in jewellery. They are 

 polished, with a rounded surface, and look somewhat like cat's-eyes, 

 but are much softer. 



Kaolin. This name is applied to the clay that results from the 

 decomposition of Felspar. It is the material used for making porce- 

 lain or china-ware. The change the Felspar undergoes in producing 

 Kaolin consists principally in a removal of the alkali-potash, with part 

 of the silica, and the addition of water. Composition of a specimen 

 from Schneeberg (Berthier) : 



Silica 13-6 



Alumina ... 37'7 



Peroxide of Iron 15 



Water 12-6 



It occurs in extensive beds in granite regions, where it has been 

 derived from the decomposition of this rock. A granite containing 

 talc seems to be the most common source of it. [ROCKS.] 



FKNESTE'LLA, a beautiful and abundant genus of Fossil Zoopliyta, 

 allied to Ketepora, which occurs in the whole Paltcozoic series. 

 (Lonsdale, ' Sil. System,' &c.) 



FENNEC the name of a species of Canis, the C. Zerda of Qmeliu. 



3 v 



