608 MANUAL OF ZOOLOGY. 



hair, and the face bears many long stiff bristles. There are 

 no external ears. The chief use of the tusk-like canines 

 appears to be that of assisting the unwieldy animal to get out 

 of the water upon the ice ; but they doubtless serve as weapons 

 of offence and defence as well. The Walrus is hunted by 

 whalers, both for its blubber, which yields an excellent oil, and 

 for the ivory of the tusks. It is found, living in herds, in the 

 Arctic seas, being especially abundant at Spitzbergen and Nova 

 Zembla. 



SECTION II. PLANTIGRADA. The Carnivorous animals be- 

 longing to this section apply the whole or the greater part of 

 the sole of the foot to the ground (fig. 259, A); and the por- 

 tion of the sole so employed is destitute of hairs in most 

 instances (the sole is hairy in the Polar Bear). From the 

 structure of the foot, the Plantigrada have great power of rear- 

 ing themselves up on the hind-feet. They approach the In- 

 sectivora in their comparatively slow movements and their 

 nocturnal habits, and in possessing no caecum. They mostly 

 hybernate, and their feet are always pentadactylous. 



The typical family of the Plantigrade Carnivora is that of 

 the Ursida or Bears, in which the entire sole of the foot is 

 applied to the ground in walking. The Ursidce are much less 

 purely carnivorous than the majority of the order, and in 

 accordance with their omnivorous habits, the teeth do not 

 exhibit the typical carnivorous characters. The incisors and 

 canines have the ordinary carnivorous form, but the " carnassial " 

 or sectorial molar has a tuberculate crown instead of a sharp 

 cutting edge. The dental formula is 



.33 T T 44 22 



'3=^ T-i' ^4-4' -3=3 -42- 



The claws are formed for digging, large, strong, and curved, 

 but are not retractile. The tongue is smooth ; the ears small, 

 erect, and rounded ; the tail short ; the nose forms a movable 

 truncated snout ; and the pupil is circular. 



As shown by their smooth tongues and tuberculate molars, 

 the Bears are not peculiarly or strictly carnivorous. They eat 

 flesh when they can obtain it, but a great part of their food is 

 of a vegetable nature. 



The Bears are very generally distributed over the globe, 

 Australia alone having no representative of the family. The 

 common Brown Bear (Ursus Arctos) was at one time an 

 inhabitant of Britain, and also existed over the whole of Europe. 

 At the present day the Brown Bear is only found in the great 



