MAMMALIA 1513 



MAMMALIA. BARON CUVIER 



THE mammalia are placed at the head of the 

 animal kingdom not only because it is the 

 class to which man himself belongs, but also be- 

 cause it is that which enjoys the most numerous 

 faculties, the most delicate sensations, the most va- 

 ried powers of motion, and in which all the different 

 qualities seem combined in order to produce a most 

 perfect degree of intelligence, the one most fertile 

 in resources, most susceptible of perfection, and least 

 the slave of instinct. 



As their quantity of respiration is moderate, they 

 are designed in general for walking on the earth, 

 but with vigorous and continued steps. The forms 

 of the articulations of their skeleton are, conse- 

 quently, strictly defined, which determines all their 

 motions with the most rigorous precision. 



Some of them, however, by means of limbs con- 

 siderably elongated and extended membranes, raise 

 themselves in the air; others have them so short- 

 ened that they can move with facility in water only, 

 though this does not deprive them of the general 

 character of the class. 



The upper jaw in all of these animals is fixed to 

 the cranium; the lower jaw is formed of two pieces 

 only, articulated by a projecting condyle to a fixed 

 temporal bone; the neck consists of seven vertebrae; 

 one single species excepted, which has nine; the an- 

 terior ribs are attached before, by cartilage to a 

 sternum consisting of several vertical pieces; their 



