CAT TRIBE. 



353 



OUTER (a) and oral (b) ASPECTS OF THK KIGHT 

 UPrEK FLESH-TOOTH OF THE STRrPED HYiXA. 



exemplified in that of the striped hysena represented in the accompanj^ing 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 

 larffe cuttinsr-blade on the outer side of its 

 front portion, wliich is invariably divided 

 into two distinct lobes, of which the second 

 is generally the tiiller. 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 ; wliile posteriorly the tooth is extended in the 

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

 as the hyfenas and ctits, consists, however, only of the two-lobed blades, with or 

 without a minute inner ^ i 



cusp and a small hind 

 ledge representing the 

 heeL 



Under the general 

 title of cats it is fonml 

 convenient to include all 

 the li\-ing representatives 

 of the extensive family of 

 the Felklcc, the whole of 

 which, with the single 

 exception of the hunting- 

 leopard, are classed in the 

 genus Fells. In this .sen.se 



lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, pumas, Ij-nxes, 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 stnicture 

 for the pui-suit 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 rS->-ER (b) ASPECTS OP THE BIGHT LOWER FLESH-TOOTH OF 



AN EXTINCT DOG-TJKE CABNIVOBE. 



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



—After Kittl. 



