ORDER CARNASSIER. 121 



ample intestines, yet this agreement does by no means ex- 

 ist invariably. What is best, is not always found to be 

 observed ; were it so, we should have only either animals 

 altogether carnivorous, or altogether herbivorous. We 

 know, on the contrary, that all the degrees comprised with- 

 in these limits, are pretty nearly filled. An attentive ob- 

 server will soon perceive that the abdominal viscera may un- 

 dergo some variation without any corresponding change in 

 the structure of the teeth, and these last, in their turn, may 

 be modified, without any reciprocal alteration in the diges- 

 tive organs. 



Besides, it is certain, that many different structures of 

 teeth may produce the same effects ; and in this case, 

 cceteris 'paribus, this diversity of form cannot, of itself, 

 prove a sufficient ground of generic distinction. What is 

 individual, should be transferred to specific characters. 



Of this the sub-genus, we are upon, is an excellent exam- 

 ple. It is composed of species which perfectly resemble each 

 other, except in the structure, arrangement, and number of 

 the cheek teeth. These differences, (if we divest ourselves 

 of deference for an imaginary theory, and stick to observa- 

 tion,) we shall find to contain nothing essential. They by 

 no means depend on causes inherent in the nature of the 

 teeth, and simply relate to a change of proportion in the 

 maxillary bones. We have phyllostomata with short muz- 

 zles, and others with muzzles more elongated, but all make 

 the same use of their teeth, whatever differences may exist 

 between them. 



In comparing the crania of the Javelin bat, and the 

 Vampire, we are struck by the difference of their propor- 

 tions. That of the vampire is narrower and longer ; this 

 contraction is peculiarly observable in the lower jaw, 

 which does not, however, prevent the canines, which ter- 

 minate that jaw, from being very thick at their roots. The 

 incisives, whose growth is somewhat impeded by this 



