THE BRITISH MAMMALS I ORDERS, FAMILIES, ETC. II 



Coat not spiny. 



2. (Talpidte) 



No external ears ; eyes hidden by fur ; incisors nearly 

 level and placed in a semicircle; canines in lower jaw 

 Talpa, 17. 



3. (Soricidae) 



Ears external ; eyes not hidden by fur ; tail long ; first 

 pair of incisors long, hooked, and pointing forwards ; 

 no canines in lower jaw. 



Tail squarish, equally haired, feet not fringed with 

 hairs ; thirty-two teeth Sorex, 18, 19. 



Tail fringed with long hairs below ; feet fringed with 

 hair ; thirty teeth Crossopus, 20. 



Of the carnivores we have nine genera, which are distributed 

 among four of the families, two of the families having each but one 

 representative, these being the wild cat and the fox. The fourth 

 family consists of the seals, which differ so obviously from the rest 

 in the limbs being in the form of flippers, in the hind limbs being 

 attached to the tail, and in the absence of external ears so far as 

 the British batch is concerned and in the want of the carnassials, or 

 flesh teeth, which are so marked a feature in the land carnivora. In 

 one genus of our seals (Cystophora), the incisors number two in the 

 upper jaw and one in the lower, and the head is crested ; in the two 

 other genera the incisors in the upper jaw number three, and there 

 are two in the lower ; but these genera are not likely to be mistaken 

 for one another when the shape of their heads is taken into 

 consideration, as that of the grey seal (Halichcerus) is flattened, 

 while that of the common, ringed and harp seals (Phoca) is rounded. 



The land carnivores can be sorted out on their hind toes, which 

 number four in the cat and fox, and five in the Mustelidae. In the 

 cat (Felidae) the muzzle is short ; in the fox (Canidae) the muzzle is 

 long, but the four genera of the remaining family are not so easily 

 disposed of. In two the nose is grooved, in two it is not grooved, 

 and these latter are not likely to be mistaken for the others as they 

 are the otter and the badger, the former having webbed feet and 

 flattened hind claws, the latter being without the webs on the toes 

 and having the fore claws conspicuously long. But we can sort out 

 in an easier way the three genera in which the toes are not webbed. 

 The pine marten (Mustela) is sufficiently distinguished from the 

 others by his long tail ; in the upper jaw he has five teeth behind 

 the canine and in the lower jaw he has six. Of the two genera with 

 short tails, Meles has a similar arrangement of teeth, while Putorius 

 has only four of these cheek teeth in the upper jaw and five in the 

 .lower, besides having no striking difference in the size of the claws. 



This leaves us with 

 CARNIVORA 

 I. (Phocidse) 



Limbs in the form of flippers ; hincj limbs attached to 

 tail; no external ears, 



