OASSELL'S NATURAL HISTORY. 



LION OF GU/.EKAT. 



THE CARNIVORA. 

 CHAPTER I. 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS THE CAT FAMILY. 



The Carnivora- Division into Terrestrial (Fissipedia) and Aquatic (Pinnipedia) Introductory Remarks on the 



Their Relations to Man and to other Animals Their Distribution over the Surface of the Globe Their Structure 

 The Diversity of their Form and Habits Their Division into Lesser Groups THE CAT FAMILY Their Geographical 

 and Chronological Distribution -Their Skeleton The Peculiarities of their Skull, Teeth, &c. 



Carnivora, or flesh-eating Mammals, form a fourth order of the Mammalia, and are divided 

 -i- into two great groups, or sub-orders as they are called by zoologists, one terrestrial, and the 

 other aquatic. The first is the group of the Fissipedia, or " split-feet," so called from the fact that 

 the feet are divided into well-marked toes ; the second is the group of the Pinnipedia, or " fin-feet " 

 (Seals, &c.), so called from the fact that the toes are bound together by skin, forming fins or 

 flippers rather than feet. 



THE LAND CARNIVORA.* 



This group, which comprises all the great " beasts of prey," is one of the most compact, as well as 

 one of the most interesting among the Mammalia. So many of the animals contained in it have 



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* Fissipedia. 



