MAMMALIA. 491 



surprising activity, great cunning, and an insatiable love for blood, are the 

 prominent characteristics of this race. Among themselves thej are unso- 

 cial, quarrelsome, and savage ; the parent will devour its own offspring ; 

 and even the sexes are seldom seen together after the season of courtship. 

 Yet many even of these animals, when they are in confinement, evince 

 some kindness to those from whom they receive their daily food." 



The representatives of this family during the tertiary epoch belong to 

 the same generic forms of the existing fauna. 



The genus Felis (the cats) is the most completely and powerfully armed 

 among all Carnivora. Their short and round snout, short jaws, and par- 

 ticularly their retractile nails, render the largest species the most formi- 

 dable of animals. The legs and tail are moderately long. The species 

 of this genus are numerous. To it belong the lion, F. leo {pi. 115^ fig. 1), 

 of all beasts of prey the strongest and the most courageous, now confined 

 to Africa and some neighboring parts of Asia. The tiger, F. tigris {pi. 

 115, fig. 2), is larger, has shorter hair, and generally striped ; the most 

 cruel of all quadrupeds, and the scourge of the East Indies. The leopard, 

 F. leopardus {p)l. 115, fig. 3), inhabits Africa. The panther, F. pardus 

 {pi. 115, fig. 5), found in Africa, Asia, and the Indian Archipelago. 

 Several species are found in North America ; one is the jaguar, F. onca 

 {pi. 115, fig. 4), of the size of the panther. The ocelot or panther {F. 

 pardalis) and the couguar or puma {F. concolor) are two others. 



The domestic cat, F. domesticus {pi. 114, fig. 4), is originally from the 

 forests of Europe. Wild {F. catus) it is of a more uniform color. In a 

 domesticated state it varies in color, in the length and fineness of the hair ; 

 less, however, than the dog. One of these varieties, F. domesticus ango- 

 rensis, the Angora cat, is represented in pi. 114, fig. 5. 



Numerous species of this genus existed during the tertiary epoch, and 

 have left remains of their presence in the deposits of that time. Several 

 have been discovered in South American caverns. 



The genus Lynx scarcely differs from Felis in the arrangement and 

 structure of the teeth ; the only difference is one tooth less in the upper jaw 

 on both sides. The head is short, round, and arched ; the ears are short, 

 erect, and more or less tufted. The fore feet have five toes, the hind ones 

 only four. The tail is sometimes much shorter than the body, and some- 

 times nearly as long. The common American wild cat or bay lynx {L. 

 rufus) is found throughout the United States. 



The Canada lynx {L. borealis or canadensis) is another species. 



The common European lynx is figured owpl. 116, fig. 6. 



Order 8. Quadrumana. 



The order of Quadrumana or four-handed mammals embraces the mon- 

 key tribe. The thumb of the extremities is sometimes opposable to the 

 other fingers in both anterior and posterior limbs, sometimes only in the 

 fore ones, giving nevertheless to all of them the power of prehension. 



695 



