CAT TRIBE. 



353 



d 



exemplified in that of the striped hyaena represented in the accompanying woodcut, 

 consists of an outer blade, and of a strong tubercle on the inner side. The blade, as 

 in the figured specimen, may consist of three 

 lobes, or as in the dogs and civets, of only 

 two such lobes, which bite on the outer 

 side of the lower flesh-tooth, in a manner 

 well known to all who have ever examined 

 the skull of a tiger, lion, dog, etc. The lower 

 flesh-tooth, of which an example is repre- 

 sented in the next figure, likewise has a 

 large cutting-blade on the outer side of its 

 front portion, which is invariably divided OUTER (A) AND ORAL (B) ASPECTS OF THE RIGHT 

 into two distinct lobes, of which the second UPPER FLESH-TOOTH OF THE STRIPED HY^NA. 

 is generally the taller. In the more general- 

 ised Carnivores, such as the dogs, the second lobe of the blade of this tooth has a 

 small cusp (c) on its inner side ; while posteriorly the tooth is extended in the 

 form of a long heel (d). The lower flesh-tooth of the more specialised forms, such 

 as the hysenas and cats, consists, however, only of the two-lobed blades, with or 

 without a minute inner 

 cusp and a small hind 

 ledge representing the 

 heel. 



Under the general 

 title of cats it is found 

 convenient to include all 

 the living representatives 

 of the extensive family of 

 the Felidce, the whole of 

 which, with the single 

 exception of the hunting- 



-, j -, -, . . , a, b, first and second lobes of the blades ; c inner cusp of do.; d, heel. 



leopard, are classed in the After Kitti. 



genus Felis. In this sense 



lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, pumas, lynxes, and the smaller species more nearly 



allied to the domestic cat, are all designated Cats. 



The members of the Cat family may be regarded as the ideal representatives 

 of the Carnivores, being those most completely adapted in all parts of their structure 

 for the pursuit and destruction of living prey. Their long, lithe bodies exhibit in 

 its fullest perfection the combination of strength and agility distinctive of Carni- 

 vores in general ; while their strength is so great that the larger species are enabled 

 to kill and drag away animals of far greater bulk than their own. 



The essential characteristics of the living cats are to be found in the extreme 

 shortness of their muzzles ; in the reduction of the number of their teeth far below 

 that in the more generalised Carnivores, such as the dogs ; in the powerful develop- 

 ment of their tusks and flesh-teeth; and in their strongly curved and retractile 

 claws, as well as in the free and supple movements of their fore-paws. Omitting 

 mention of certain features distinctive of the skulls of the cats and their nearest 



VOL. i. 23 



OUTER (A) AND INNER (fi) ASPECTS OF THE RIGHT LOWER FLESH-TOOTH OF 

 AN EXTINCT DOG-LIKE CARNIVORE. 



