408 CLASS MAMMALIA, 



three false molars, and one carnivorous. All these teeth 

 are remarkable for their size and strength ; and are parti- 

 cularly adapted thereby for breaking large bones, a physical 

 fact, in perfect harmony with their singular liking and 

 appetite for bones as food. In each jaw are also two 

 very strong canines, and six incisors. The fore-feet, as 

 well as the hinder, have four toes armed with claws, 

 adapted for digging. The pupil, when half closed, has 

 an elongated and pyramidal form. The nostrils resemble 

 those of Dogs. The tongue is covered with rough papillae. 

 The ears are large, very open, possessing great mobility, 

 and habitually directed forwards. There are mustachios 

 on the upper lip and cheek. The hairs of the coat are 

 generally long, copious, and rough. Under the anus is a 

 longitudinal cleft, which produces an unctuous and fetid 

 matter. The Hyaena is digitigrade. Its sense of smell 

 seems most acute, yet it prefers flesh which has began to 

 turn to that which is fresh. Four or five pounds a day 

 seem to satisfy it. It drinks lapping. Its voice resem- 

 bles groaning, or loud wailing. The reproduction and 

 habits of these animals are equally unknown. The usual 

 colour is a dirty fawn, bordering on a blackish-brown 

 towards the lower parts. The extremity of the muzzle is 

 black. The Spotted Hyaena is about four feet and upwards 

 in length, and its height to the shoulder about two feet 

 three or four inches ; to the loins not two feet. 



The Striped Hy&na presents a remarkable example of 

 the facility with which errors are admitted and spread 

 abroad, even when the truth might be easily ascertained. 

 Aristotle, who knew the animal, has left us a very succinct 

 description of it, and combated fables on the subject which 

 were even current in his own time. Pliny, however, relates 

 these fables in preference to following the text of Aris- 

 totle, and he has been copied by most of those who have 

 written subsequently on natural history, even by those 



