ORDER CARNASSIER. 49 



bones of the strongest animals which become their 

 prey. Their tongue is rough. All their feet have 

 four toes like the Surikates, and under the anus is 

 a deep and glandulous pouch. They are nocturnal 

 animals, voracious, living particularly on carcasses, 

 and seeking them even in the tombs. There are 

 many superstitious traditions relative to these ani- 

 mals. Two species are known : 



The Striped Hy ana (Canis Hy ana, Lin.) Buff. Sup. 



III. XLVI. 



Gray, irregularly radiated across with brown 

 or black. A mane along the nape of the neck 

 and the back, which it elevates in the moments 

 of anger. It inhabits from the Indies as far as 

 Abyssinia and Senegal. 



The Spotted Hy&na, (Canis Crocuta, Lin.) Schreb. XCVI. B. 



Gray, spotted with black, from the South of 

 Africa. It is the tiger-wolf of the Cape. 



The Cats, (Felis, Lin.) 



Are of all the Carnassiers the most powerfully armed. 

 Their short and round muzzle, their short jaws, and 

 above all their retractile claws, which, drawn up- 

 wards and concealed within the toes by the effect of 

 elastic ligaments when in a state of rest, thus never 

 losing their point or edge, render them, especially 

 the larger species, very formidable animals. They 

 have two false molars above and two below. Their 



Vol. II. B 



