144 VERTEBRATA. MAMMALIA. 



The jaw has no lateral or grinding motion, but one 

 forward and backward ; the molars, therefore, have 

 transverse crowns. Most of the genera are frugivor- 

 ous or omnivorous ; a few, however, shew a tendency 

 to a carnivorous habit. The hinder parts are gener- 

 ally the most developed ; many leap rather than walk. 

 Most of the anatomical details of their structure, 

 and especially the form of the brain, indicate their 

 intellectual and physical inferiority, though some 

 certainly possess much foresight and dexterity. The 

 species enjoy a very extensive geographical range, 

 but seem to predominate chiefly in America. 



Sciurus,* the Squirrel. 



Of this extensive and widely-spread genus, our 

 own elegant little species, (S. Vulgaris,} the playful 

 and beautiful tenant of our beech-woods, the lively 

 but gentle pet of our houses, affords the best ex- 

 ample. Living almost wholly in the trees, where 

 it eats nuts, acorns, &c., it climbs and leaps from 

 bough to bough with bird-like agility and precision. 

 Its amusing mode of eating, sitting on its haunches, 

 and holding its food in its fore-paws, its ingenious 

 and cosy nest, its shadowing tail, its winter hoards 

 of grain and mast; these are well known, and are 

 characteristic of the tribe. 



Many of the foreign species, such as those from 

 North America, (S. Cinereus, S. Capistratus, &c.) 

 and the great Indian Squirrel (S. Maximus), as 

 * 2x/a, skia, a shade, and ov^a, oura, a tail. 



