MAM 



[275 1 



MAM 



as it is necessary. Mammalia con- 

 stitutes the first class of Spini- 

 Cerebrata or Yertebrata, and this 

 class has been divided by some into 

 ten orders. 



1 . Bimana, or two-handed ; the 

 thumbs separate on the superior 

 extremities only. Example, man. 



2. Quadrumana, or four-handed; 

 the thumb, or great toe, capable of 

 being opposed to the other fingers 

 or toes on each of the four extrem- 

 ities. The ape is an example. 



3. Bradypoda, or slow moving 

 animals, with their bodies generally 

 covered by a hard crust. The 

 armadillo is an example. 



4. Cheiroptera, wing-handed, or 

 animals having their fingers elon- 

 gated for the expansion of mem- 

 branes, which serve as wings. 

 This membrane commences at the 

 side of the neck, extends between 

 the feet and toes, serves to support 

 them in the air, and enables such 

 of them to fly as have their hands 

 sufficiently developed for that pur- 

 pose. The bat is an example. 



5. Glires, or Eodentia. Gnaw- 

 ing animals, having large incisors 

 in each jaw, separated from the 

 molars by an empty space, by which 

 they divide hard substances. They 

 have no canine teeth ; they cannot 

 seize living prey nor tear flesh; 

 they cannot, even with their teeth, 

 cut their food, but they gnaw or 

 file it, hence their name. The 

 squirrel, mouse, hare, &c., are 

 familiar examples. 



6. Ferae, or predaceous and 

 carnivorous animals. They have 

 large canine teeth, the molares 

 forming pointed prominences for 

 tearing and cutting the food. The 

 bear, hedge-hog, &c., are examples. 



7. Solidungula, or Solipeda. 

 Animals having a single toe, or 

 hoof, on each foot. These have 

 six incisor teeth in each jaw, and 

 are all of them herbivorous. The 

 horse is an example. 



8. Ruminantia, orPecora. The 

 term ruminantia indicates the 

 peculiar property possessed by 

 these animals of chewing the cud, 

 that is, of masticating their food a 

 second time, by bringing it back 

 to the mouth after having swallowed 

 it. This property depends upon 

 the structure of their stomachs, of 

 which they have four, the three 

 first being so disposed that the food 

 may enter into either of them, the 

 oesophagus, or gullet, terminating 

 at the point of communication. 

 They have two toes on each foot, 

 and no incisors in the upper jaw. 

 The sheep, goat, ox, &c., are fam- 

 iliar examples. 



9. Pachydermata, or Belluae. 

 Thick-skinned animals. Animals 

 of unshapely form and a thick tough 

 hide. They have more than two 

 toes on each foot, some having 

 three, four, or five ; some of them 

 have large tusks, and a proboscis. 

 The elephant, rhinoceros, hippopo- 

 tamus, &c., are placed in this order. 



10. Cetacea. These are mam- 

 miferous animals, destitute of hind 

 feet; their trunk terminates in a 

 thick horizontal tail with a cartil- 

 aginous fin. They live in the sea, 

 and their external form is that of 

 fishes, the fin of the tail excepted, 

 which in cetacea is horizontal, 

 while in fishes it is always vertical. 

 Their respiring by lungs, instead 

 of gills ; their possessing warm 

 blood ; their viviparous production ; 

 and their having mammas with 

 which they suckle their young, all 

 entitle them to be placed in the 

 class to which they belong. The 

 arrangement of mammalia by 

 Cuvier somewhat differs from the 

 above, and is as follows : 1. Bi- 

 mana ; 2. Quadrumana ; 3. Carna- 

 ria; 4. Marsupialia; 5. Rodentia ; 

 6. Edentata; 7. Pachydermata; 8. 

 Ruminantia; 9. Cetacea. 



Mammalia have been by a more 

 recent author divided into two 



