70 MAMMALIA. 



F. caracal, Lin. (The Caracal.) Of an almost uniform vinous red. From 

 Persia, Turkey, &c. It is the true Lynx of the ancients. 



The inferior species, which are deprived of the pencils on the ears, are more 

 or less similar to our common cat; such is 



F. pardalis, Lin.; Buff. (The Ocelot) Rather lower on its legs than most 

 of the others ; grey, with large fawn-coloured spots bordered with black, 

 forming oblique bands on the flank. From America. 



F. catus, Lin. (The Domestic Cat.) This animal is originally from the 

 forests of Europe. In its wild state, it is of a greyish brown, with darker 

 transverse undulations; below pale; the insides of the thighs and of all the 

 feet yellowish; three bands on the tail, its inferior third blackish. In a 

 domestic state it varies, as is well known, in colours, in the length and fineness 

 of the hair, but infinitely less so than the dog ; it is also much less submissive 

 and affectionate. The species more or less allied to the cat are very numerous 

 in the two continents ; but most of those given in catalogues are far from being 

 authentic, or sufficiently distinguished from each other. The 



AMPHIBIA 



Will form the third and last of the small tribes into which 

 we divide the Carnivora. Their feet are so short and so en- 

 veloped in the skin, that the only service they can render them 

 on land is to enable them to crawl ; but as the intervals of the 

 fingers are occupied by membranes, they are excellent oars ; and 

 in fact these animals pass the greater portion of their time in 

 the water, never landing, except for the purpose of basking in 

 the sun, and suckling their young. Their elongated body ; their 

 verymoveable spine, which is provided with muscles that strongly 

 flex it ; their narrow pelvis; their short hair, that adheres closely to the skin 

 all unite to render them good swimmers ; and all the details of their anatomy 

 confirm these first indicia. 

 We have as yet distinguished two genera only, Phoca and Trichechus. 



PHOCA, Linnceus. 



Seals have six or four incisors above, four or two below, 

 pointed canini and grinders to the number of twenty, twenty- 

 two, or twenty-four, all trenchant or conical, and without any 

 tuberculous part whatever ; five toes to all the feet, the anterior 

 ones regularly decreasing in length from the thumb to the little 

 toe, while in the hinder feet the thumb and the little toe are the 

 longest, and the intermediate ones the shortest. The fore feet 

 are enveloped in the skin of the body as far as the tarsus, the hinder ones 

 almost to the heel Between the latter is a short tail. The head of a Seal 

 bears a resemblance to that of a dog, whose intelligence and soft expressive look 

 it also possesses. It is easily tamed, and soon becomes attached to its keeper, 

 or those who feed it. The tongue is smooth and sloped at the end, the sto- 

 mach simple, csecum short, and the intestinal canal long, and tolerably regular 



