36 CARNIVORES. 



It is noteworthy that, with the exception of the one Old World genus, no remains 

 of this family have ever been discovered beyond the limits of the New World. 



THE PANDA. 

 Genus JZlurus. 



The curious animal represented in the accompanying illustration, and known 

 as the panda (^Elurus fulgens), is one in regard to whose serial position there has 

 been much diversity of opinion. It was at one time placed in the bear family, 

 next to the parti-coloured bear; while it has also been regarded as the repre- 

 sentative of a distinct family by itself. Mr. Blanford has, however, come to the 

 conclusion that its true position is in the raccoon family, and it is probable that 

 this view will be pretty generally adopted in the future. 



The panda, or, as it is often called, the red cat-bear, is restricted to the South- 

 Eastern Himalaya, and may be compared in size to a large cat. Externally it is 

 characterised by its broad and rounded head, in which the muzzle is extremely 

 short, the small eyes are directed forwards, and the ears are of considerable size. 

 The stout limbs are furnished with large, curved, and sharp claws, which can be 

 partially retracted; and the soles of the large feet are covered with hair. The 

 tail is long and rather thick, its length being nearly equal to that of the body, or 

 rather more than two-thirds of that of the head and body together. The fur is 

 long and thick, with a woolly under-fur. 



In colour, a large portion of the fur of the panda is a bright, rusty red, of 

 somewhat variable shade; this colour prevailing on the back, the upper part 

 of the head, and the darker rings on the tail. The forehead is of a lighter tint of 

 red, as are also the paler rings on the tail, its tip being black. The under-parts 

 and the inner-surfaces of the limbs are black, tending to a brownish tint on the 

 abdomen. The face, like the lower lips, is white, except for a vertical stripe of 

 red proceeding from each eye to the angle of the mouth. Occasionally, how- 

 ever, as in the specimen here figured, there is also a red stripe running down 

 the middle of the nose. The inner surface of the ears are also white, as are also 

 the claws. A large male panda measured 24 inches from the tip of the snout to 

 the root of the tail ; while the length of the tail was 17 inches without the hair 

 at the end, and 19 J inclusive of the hair. Other specimens measured respectively 

 20 and 22 inches to the root of the tail. 



It is, however, not only externally that the panda is a remarkable creature. 

 In its skull and teeth it is very unlike other Carnivores. Thus the skull is 

 remarkably short, with the profile from the front teeth to the occiput forming a 

 regular curve, which approximates to a semicircle. The lower jaw is also- 

 remarkable for its extremely convex and regularly-curved inferior border, and 

 also for the great length of the portion which ascends on the sides of the skulL 

 The total number of teeth in the panda is 38, of which, on each side of the jaws. 

 are incisors, \ incisors, f premolars, and f molars. The canines, or tusks, are 

 of no great size, but are remarkably flattened from side to side. The upper 

 molars have very wide crowns, which are nearly square in outline, and carry 



