GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 



The Skeleton, 



coat of hair in the former than in the latter season, of which we have an excellent 

 example in the horse. In some Mammals, such as the hare and cat, the body is 

 covered with only one kind of hair ; but in other cases, as in the fur-seals, there is 

 one kind of long and somewhat coarse hair, which appears at the surface, and 

 another of a softer and liner nature, which forms the thick and warm under-fur. 

 This under-fur is greatly developed in Mammals of all groups inhabiting Tibet, 

 whore it is locally known as 'pashm'; and it is this pashm of the goat of these 

 regions which affords the materials for the celebrated Kashmir shawls. Curiously 

 enough, too, animals which usually do not develop pashm almost immediately tend 

 to its production when taken to the Tibetan region, as is notably the case with 

 dogs. Less frequently the hair of the body takes the form of stiff bristles, as on 

 the pig ; and still more rarely this thickening is carried to such an extent as to 

 produce spines, of which we have the best instances in the porcupine and hedge- 

 hog, belonging, it should be borne in mind, to distinct orders. 



The solid horns of the rhinoceroses, and the hollow horny sheaths of cattle 

 and antelopes are very similar in their nature to hairs, and may indeed be com- 

 pared to masses of hair welded together into solid structures. 



Although a fair idea of Mammals as a whole may be gained 

 without investigation into the nature of their soft internal parts, yet 

 any one who desires to obtain 

 any really accurate know- 

 ledge of them must make 

 up his mind to acquire at 

 least some slight idea of the 

 general structure of the bony 

 skeleton, and also of the form 

 and nature of the teeth, since 

 these parts are of the highest 

 importance in classification. 



We have already in- 

 cidentally mentioned that the 

 skull consists of two portions, 

 the skull proper, which 

 contains the brain, and the 

 lower jaw. It will suffice to 

 mention, in addition, that the 

 hinder part of the skull is 

 known as the occiput, and that on the front surface the pair of bones roofing over 

 the cavity of the nose are known as the nasals, while those behind them, forming 

 the region of the forehead, are termed f rentals. Further, in the upper jaw, the bones 

 which carry the hinder or cheek-teeth are known as the maxillae, while those in 

 which the front cutting-teeth are implanted are termed the premaxillse. All the other 

 numerous bones of the skull have received distinct names ; but the reader desirous 

 of becoming acquainted with them must refer to other works. Our notice of the 

 other parts of the skeleton must be equally brief. In the backbone or vertebral 

 column, the first vertebra, or that which articulates with the skull is known as the 



SKELETON OP THE LION. 



sk. skull ; zy. cheek-bone (zygornatic arch) ; cv. vertebrae of the neck ; 

 d. vertebrae of the back ; 1. vertebrae of the loins ; s. sacrum ; cd. 

 vertebra of the tail ; sc. shoulder - blade (scapula) ; h. arm - bone 

 (hurnerus) ; r. u. bones of fore-arm (radius and ulna) ; cp. wrist (carpus) ; 

 inc. metacarpus ; ph. toe-bones ; pv. haunch-bone (pelvis) ; fm. thigh- 

 bone (femur) ; p. knee-cap (patella) ; tb. fb. bones of lower leg (tibia 

 and fibula) ; Is. ankle (tarsus) ; in. metatarsus. 



