CARNIVORA. MAMMALIA. CARNIVORA. 



71 



would unfold itself and nm off unhurt." This last- 

 mentioned phenomenon appears to give some clue to 

 the ridiculous story of the hedgehog's voluntary falls 

 from the branches of fruit-trees ; at all events, the cir- 

 cumstance illustrates the well-known remark, that all 

 widely-spread notions, however false and egregious, 

 have their origin in some misinterpreted fact or other 

 element of truth. Hedgehogs are readily tamed, and 

 are, we believe, still kept by a few persons to eat up 

 cockroaches and other noxious insects which infest our 

 houses. Some aver that the flesh is good eating, but 

 others dispute its merits in this respect; gipsies, at any 

 rate, will cook and eat them. Without entering into 

 a lengthened description, we may remark that a full- 

 grown example measures about nine and a half inches, 



not including the rudimentary tail, which is only three- 

 quarters of an inch long. The jaws are armed with 

 thirty-six teeth that is, eight incisors, six above and 

 two below, and twenty-eight molars. The ears are 

 short and oval, the eyes being bright and distinct. 

 At the lower part of the body the spines degenerate, as 

 it were, into mere bristles and stout hairs. The 

 animal's habits are essentially nocturnal, and during 

 the winter it remains in a torpid state, hybernating in 

 the hollows of decayed trees and similar secure retreats. 

 The nest is carefully constructed and rain-proof. In 

 the early part of the summer the female produces from 

 two to four young ones at a birth, their skin being 

 covered with soft white elastic bristles, which in a very 

 few days assume the ordinary hard epinous character. 



ORDER V.-CARN1VORA. 



IN the arrangement of Cuvier, this eminently carni- 

 vorous group of animals constitutes the third family of 

 those unguiculated mammals, which he associated 

 together under the common title of Carnassiers. It is 

 in these Carnivora, properly so called, that we observe 

 the highest development of physical force combined 

 with a purely zoophagous appetite. If, for example, 

 we examine the skeleton of a lion, we shall find its 

 mechanism specially adapted for the purposes of active 

 pursuit, and for the employment of overbearing 

 strength (Plate 33, fig. 105). The skull is short, broad, 

 and massive, the hind part supporting at the vertex a 

 longitudinal ridge or crest. The object of this median 

 elevation is to afford attachment to the powerful tem- 

 poral muscles which act upon and are inserted into the 

 base of the lower jaw. The several bones of the face, 

 and consequently those of the jaw, bear a remarkable 

 contrast to the same osseous elements in the order 

 previously considered ; for, whereas in the latter we 

 invariably notice a more or less marked attenuation 

 towards the snout, in the lion and other typical Carni- 

 vora we find the facial bones terminating abruptly in 

 a broad and short muazle. The orbital fossae are spa- 

 cious, in order to accommodate the largely-developed 

 eyes. That part of the temporal bone immediately 

 connected with the function of hearing, is remarkably 

 developed for the purpose of exaggerating the power 

 of appreciating the most delicate sonorous vibrations 

 a circumstance obviously connected with the animal's 

 nocturnal habits. From the internal surface of the 

 occipital and parietal bones a peculiar shelf-like osseous 

 plate projects, so as to divide the cerebral cavity into 

 two or more parts ; in the living state these osseous 

 laminae occupy the narrow interspaces between the 

 principal divisions of the brain, and they are evidently 

 intended to protect the great nervous centre from 

 injury, during the violent and oft-repeated shocks to 

 which the animal's habits necessarily expose it. The 

 prodigiously strong jaws are armed with thirty teeth, 

 twelve of these being well-developed incisors, six 

 above and the same number below ; the four canines 

 are long and stout, having almost the appearance of 



' tusks, while the majority of the molars are trenchant 

 or cutting, two only being tuberculated, and these 

 belonging to the upper series. In other Carnivora we 

 find a larger number of tuberculated molars ; and so 

 uniformly is the balance of structure and function 

 marked by this peculiarity, that the degree of tubercu- 

 lation on the one hand, and of sharpness on the other, 

 affords a very accurate indication as to the amount of 

 carnivority possessed by any one particular species. 

 According to Professor Owen, only four of the fourteen 

 molars are true, the other ten being what are termed 

 spurious, false, or pre-molars. The vertebral column 

 of the lion is amazingly strong, yet, at the same time, 

 very flexible; this combination of strength and elasticity 

 being particularly well seen in the bones of the neck, 

 where the first two segments, termed the atlas and 

 dentata, are remarkably enlarged, the transvere pro- 

 cesses of the former and the spinous process of the 

 latter also affording admirable support and attachment 

 to those muscles which act upon the occiput. There 

 are thirteen ribs, but the number varies in different 

 genera. The skeletal elements of the fore-limbs dis- 

 play evidence of great power. The scapula or 

 shoulder-blade, is particularly broad ; the upper end of 

 the humerus, or arm-bone, R, is specially enlarged to 

 give insertion to the strong muscles of the shoulder ; 

 the radius, s, and the ulna, T, together with the bones 

 of the carpus, u, and metacarpus, v, are likewise cor- 

 respondingly stout and powerful. In the lion and 

 other digitigrade Carnivora that is, those which walk 

 on the tips of their toes the ultimate digital phalanges, 

 w, are curiously modified for the support and protec- 

 tion of their terrible claws. The extremity of each 

 phalanx is invested by the hooked nail, the base being 

 also deeply grooved and hollowed out for the lodge- 

 ment and fixation of its root. With regard to the 

 posterior pair of limbs, the femora, H, tibise, I, and 

 fibulas, K, do not exhibit any more remarkable features 

 than those referable to an increased power ; the calca- 

 neum or heel-bone, L, is bulky, and with the metatar- 

 sals, M, directed vertically upwards. This arrangement 

 facilitates the actions of springing and leaping. Tlie 



