398 SYSTEMATIC ZOOLOGY 



is generally functional for about a year. The Carnivora are 

 found all over the world, although individual species may have 

 a very restricted distribution. The living representatives of this 

 group are readily separable into two suborders. 



Suborder i. Fissipedia 



The Fissipedia (Lat. fissus, cleft, and pes, foot), sometimes 

 called the Carnivora vera, are for the most part terrestrial in 

 habit and comprise the bears, dogs, and cats with their respec- 

 tive relatives. The raccoons, of which there are several species, 

 may be noticed first. Our common raccoon, Porcyon lotor, is 

 widely distributed throughout the United States. The body is 

 covered with a soft, short fur and longer hairs, gray mixed with 

 black, and the tail is ringed. When full grown the animal may 

 measure ninety centimeters from tip of nose to tip of tail, — the 

 latter is about a third of the total length. It partially hiber- 

 nates in our colder states. The Mexican raccoon is found in 

 Mexico and the southwestern portions of the United States. 

 Another species is confined to South America, where the closely 

 related coatis are also found ; the latter are represented in Cen- 

 tral America and Mexico as well. 



The true bears belong to the family Ursidae; they have as a 

 rule a mixed diet, feeding on fruits, vegetables, honey, and 

 insects, but the polar bear is entirely carnivorous. One of the 

 most widely distributed is the brown bear. Ursiis arctos, which 

 lives in Europe, northern Asia, and Arctic portions of North 

 America ; it may attain a length of nearly two meters, although 

 the average length is less; in cold countries it hibernates. This 

 species is capable of being tamed and trained to a certain extent, 

 and is the common performing bear. The bear of the Bible is 

 the Syrian bear, Ursus syrtacus, still found in Palestine. The 

 black bear, Ursiis americanus, is confined to North America. It 

 is usually a vegetarian, hibernates in hollow trees or caves, and 

 weighs from one hundred to two hundred kilos ; the cinnamon 

 bear of the Rockies is a variety of this species. The grizzly 

 bear, Ursus horribilis, is found in the Rockies and the plains to 

 the eastward; it is the most formidable of bears, and attains a 

 length of about two and three quarters meters, ami a weight ot 



