THE ANTEUIOU LIMBS OF QUADRUPEDS. 47 



(which far exceeded the mylodon in size,) 

 convulsed with the mighty wrestling, every 

 vibrating fibre reacting upon its bony attach- 

 ment with a force which the sharp and strong 

 crests and apophyses (of the bones) loudly 

 bespeak ; extraordinary must have been the 

 strength and proportions of that tree, which, 

 rocked to and fro, right and left, in such an 

 embrace, could long withstand the efforts of its 

 ponderous assailant." 



From this review of the arboreal sloth of the 

 present day and its extinct colossal relatives, 

 the wrestlers with the trees, we may pass on 

 to the consideration of another remarkable 

 modification in the hand and arm, tending to 

 the production of a terrible weapon of destruc- 

 tion. We allude to the structure of these 

 portions of the frame in the feline group. 



Who that has contemplated the paw and arm 

 of the lion, has not been struck with the exhi- 

 bition of power which it displays ? Bones 

 dense and solid ; voluminous and strongly- 

 marked muscles; and formidable claws, con- 

 joined mth considerable freedom of movement 

 in every part of the limb, are sufiScient evidences 

 o" the fatal purposes to which it is applied; 

 biH when we ccme to examine the structural 



