313 FAUNA ANTIQUA SIYALENSIS. 



2nd. The outline of the upper surface of the cranium and 

 face. The facial line runs with a gentle curve, slightly 

 convex and nowise serpentine, to the rear of the post-orbital 

 apophyses of the frontal. The cranial line meets it without 

 angularity, and runs back horizontally to the occipital crest : 

 so that when the head is seated on the occipital condyles and 

 camassier teeth, the plane of the base of the cranium is parallel 

 to that of the vertex. In this respect it differs remarkably 

 from all known large species of Felis, in which the cranial 

 line descends more or less either in a curve or slope, from the 

 post-orbital apophyses to the occipital crest. 



3rd. The saliency of the sagittal crest, which greatly ex- 

 ceeds that of all known Felince. (See Plate XXV. fig. 1.) 



4th. The height of the occipital, which is relatively greater 

 than in any other known species of the genus (figs. 2 and 4). 



5th. The elevated position of the zygomatic arches, and 

 the strongly arched outline of their inferior margin. 



Viewed from above (fig. 1), the contrasted proportions of 

 the cranium and face are well exhibited. The muzzle is 

 short. The canine region of the maxillaries swells greatly 

 out in the bulge of the alveoli, and between it and the malars, 

 the infra-orbital hollow is more abrupt and deeper than 

 generally holds in the large Felince. The nasals are short 

 and broad. The brow is wide. The infra-orbital region 

 of the frontal is marked by a deep longitudinal hollow. The 

 post-orbital processes of the frontal and malars are blunt 

 and little projecting. The post-orbital ridges of the frontal 

 meet at a very acute angle, leaving between them a well- 

 defined and narrow furrow. The length and prominence of 

 the sagittal crest and the height of the occipital crest are 

 strongly apparent. The parietals are seen to bulge out little 

 towards their upper margin, but considerably towards the 

 temporals. 



Our means for comparison of the fossil with most of the 

 large Felince are restricted to the figures in the ' Ossemens 

 TossUes,' which, however, are so perfect and characteristic as 

 to admit of the chief marks of distmction being very readily 

 seized. Of all the large species, the specimen most closely 

 resembles the Tiger, although considerably smaller in size and 

 perfectly distinct otherwise. The chief points of resemblance in 

 both are the great development of the sagittal and occipital 

 crests, the considerable surface of the occipital, the mode- 

 rate convexity of the brow and face, and the elevated position 

 of the zygomatic arches and the outline of their inferior 

 margin. To exhibit the peculiarities of the fossil we shall 

 now give its dimensions in juxta-position with those of two 

 of the largest-sized Tigers, killed in the forests near Suharun- 



