206 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



increase gradually in size from before backwards ; so that, of the whole grinding series, the first 

 premolar is the smallest, and the last molar the largest. Now we have seen that the rule among 



existing Carnivora is for the last molar to be a 

 small tooth, and for the largest of the set to be 

 the fourth premolar in the upper jaw, and the 

 first molar in the lower jaw. On the other 

 hand, the regular increase in size is very 

 characteristic of the flesh-eating Marsupials, 

 amongst which the Thylacine, or so-called 

 Tasmanian Wolf, shows a considerable re- 

 semblance, as to its teeth, to Hycenodon and 

 Pterodon, while Palceonictis and Proviverra are 



SKULL OF PKOYIVEllRA. (AJler Caudry.) more near] a]Ued tQ the QpOSSUUlS and to 



The roof of the skull is supposed to foe cut awny to sbmv the form of the bra;n, . 



as deduced from a natural cast of the interior of the skull. the Dasyure, Or lasmailiail Devil. The brain- 



case in these forms was very small, and a cast of the interior of the skull of Proviverra, figured by 

 M. Gaudry,* shows that the brain must have had an extremely low character. 



We thus see that a considerable 



number of the existing genera of , lj 



Carnivora took their origin in the 

 Eocene epoch, where they co-existed 

 with creatures curiously intermediate 

 between the various existing families, 

 and with others intermediate between 

 Carnivora and Marsupials. In the 

 rocks of the Secondary period (chalk, 

 oolite, lias, &c.), none of the Carnivora 

 have as yet appeared, and only Mar- 

 supial remains are found. 



APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VI. 

 (VIVERRID^], CIYET FAMILY.) 



THE CYNOa.ALE.t 



ALTHOUGH in all essential respects a 

 true Viverrine, the Cynogale, or Mam- 

 palon, differs very considerably in 

 external appearance from all the mem- 

 bers of the family we have hitherto 

 considered. It has none of a Civet's 

 lithe and slender appearance, but is 

 stout and plump. Its tail is very 

 short, not more than six inches long, 

 or a quarter the length of the head 

 and body, which together attain a 

 length of about two feet. The snout 

 is long and pointed, the muzzle bald, 

 and the ears very short ; the whiskers 

 are decidedly extensive in their de- 

 velopment, for besides the usual hairs 

 on the snout, there are two large 



bundles of long bristles on the cheeks, one a little in front of and below the eye, the 

 front of the ear. The limbs are short and stout, and the digits are five in number, 



CYNOGALE. 



other in 

 slightly 



* "Lea Enchainements du Monde animal, dans les temps geologiques." Paris, 1878. 



f Cynogale Bennettii. 



