UKSID.E. -MAMMALIA. URSIIWS. 



77 



where it is also known as the Palm-civet or Musang. 

 The head is short and pointed anteriorly. The body 

 is clothed with long hair, which is generally of a grey 

 colour, the tail and sides of the muzzle being black. 

 The whiskers are extensively developed, forming a 

 very conspicuous feature. The eyes are cat-like, with 

 the pupil elongated from above downwards, the small 

 and rounded ears being covered with a tuft of pencilled 

 hairs. The jaws are armed with thirty- eight teeth ; 

 that is, twelve incisors, four canines, sixteen spurious, 

 and six true molars, only two of the latter occurring 

 in the lower jaw. The feet are entirety plantigrade 

 and pentadactylous. The tail is remarkably long, 

 stoutish throughout, more particularly at the root; it is 

 also prehensile. According to Sir Stamford Raffles, 

 the Bintnrong is slow and heavy in its movements, 

 sleeping for the most part during the day, and at night 

 wandering about in search of food. It appears to 

 enjoy both an animal and vegetable diet, having 

 however, a decided preference for the former. It 

 climbs trees with tolerable facility, being greatly 

 assisted by the strong prehensile tail. 



THE PANDA (Ailurus refulgens) comes still nearer 

 to the racoons, and consequently to the bears proper. 

 It is an inhabitant of the Himalaya: 1 , between the 

 snowy mountains and Nepaul. The body is stout, 

 and covered with a soft thickly set fur. It is of 

 a rich cinnamon colour on the back, fulvous pos- 

 teriorly, and of a deep black hue beneath. The 

 tail is as long as the body, tolerably thick throughout, 

 especially at the root, and is annulated with dark 

 brown bands. The head is short, broad, rounded, and 

 clothed with whitish hair. The ears are small, arched, 

 and pointed. The eyes are placed well forward. 

 The jaws support thirty-six teeth ; that is, twelve 

 incisive, four canines, sixteen spurious, and four true 

 molars. The limbs are short, the soles of the planti- 

 grade five-toed feet being furnished with fine downy 

 hairs. The claws are compressed, curved, retractile, 

 and very sharp. Altogether, this animal is a handsome 

 species. Respecting its affinities with certain allied 

 forms, General Hardwicke states, that the peculiarities 

 " on which its rank as a genus depends are striking 

 and prominent; but its disposition in a natural series is 

 still obscure, as it resembles in several characters the 

 individuals of that subdivision of digitigrade Carnassiers, 

 from which it differs essentially both in its teeth and 

 in its plantigrade walk. Among the peculiarities of 

 our animal are to be noticed, the great breadth of the 

 rostrum and the singular structure of the teeth ; but 

 the most remarkable character, and that on which its 

 distinction principally depends, is the form of the 

 projecting points of the posterior grinders. This char- 

 acter, as far as our observation extends, is peculiar. 

 It does not exist, except in a small degree, in any 

 other genus of carnivorous quadrupeds." Comparing 

 it with the genera Nasua and Procyon, he adds 

 "These differ essentially in the lengthened form 

 of the head and in the extended rostrum, which 

 is terminated by a flexible rhinarium. They also 

 differ in the number, character, and distribution of the 

 grinders. Nasua and Procyon have in both jaws six 

 grinders, of which the three anterior are false ; and of 



those which follow, none of the points even in the 

 adult state exhibit the truncation above described." 

 The habits of the Panda are strictly arboreal, the 

 animal being particularly abundant in the neighbour- 

 hood of running streams and mountain torrents. It 

 utters a peculiar cry resembling the syllable wha, and 

 is consequently sometimes called by the natives the 

 Chitwa. Its food consists chiefly of small quadrupeds 

 and birds. 



THE EACOON (Procyon lotor} Pltte 11, fig. 37 

 is characterized by the possession of an acute fox-like 

 muzzle, associated with an attitude thoroughly ursine 

 and plantigrade. During progression, however, the 

 heel is slightly elevated. The posterior part of the 

 head is more or less rounded. The ears are oval and 

 a little pointed. The eyes are large and penetrating, 

 having spherical pupils. The nose is soft, naked, taper- 

 ing, and projecting considerably beyond the mouth. 

 The jaws carry forty teeth ; that is, twelve incisors, 

 four canines, sixteen spurious, and as many as eight 

 true molars. The body measures about two feet in 

 length, exclusive of the tail ; but it stands low, the 

 back being scarcely a foot from the ground. The 

 limbs are short and narrow, when compared with the 

 preceding genera. The feet are pentadactylous, the 

 digits being clothed and armed with strong falciform 

 claws. Its tail is about ten inches long, and annu- 

 lated by alternating bands of dark, black, and whitish 

 hair, the latter being thick and much elongated. The 

 fur is for the most part of a greyish-brown colour. On 

 the head a brownish-black streak runs down the central 

 line from between the ears to the tip of the nose, and 

 on either side, below the eyes, there is an oblique 

 patch of a similar colour. Over the eyebrows, and 

 towards the muzzle, the hair is whitish. This is also 

 the case with the ears. The whiskers are well 

 developed. Under the belly the fur is much lighter 

 than on the back. The Racoon has an extensive 

 range over the upper parts of the North American 

 continent. In regard to its habits, Sir John Richard- 

 son thus speaks of it : " In the wild state it sleeps by 

 day, comes from its retreat in the evening, and prowls 

 in the night in search of roots, fruits, green corn, birds, 

 and insects. It is said to eat merely the brain, or suck 

 the blood of such birds as it kills. At low water it 

 frequents the sea-shore to feed on crabs and oysters. 

 It is fond of dipping its food into water before it eats, 

 which occasioned Linnaeus to give to it the specific 

 name of lotor. It climbs trees with facility. The fur 

 of the Racoon is used in the manufacture of hats, and 

 its flesh, when it has been fed on vegetables, is 

 reported to be good." 



THE BBOWN BEAR (Ursus arclos}. Almost every 

 one is familiar with this common- species, which has a 

 very wide geographical distribution over the northern 

 half of the eastern hemisphere, extending from Spain 

 and the west of Europe, to the extreme eastern parts 

 of Asia and the islands of Japan. It is also now 

 generally believed that the Barren-ground bear is only 

 a variety of this species an opinion in which we are 

 disposed to acquiesce; and if this persuasion be correct, 

 Ursus arctos must be considered an American as well 

 as European species, wliich would give it a range coex- 



