IIYiENA CKOCUTA. 7 



Canis, nearly all of these features l)eiiig noted many years ago 'ny Ciivier ^ and de Blain- 

 ville." They may be summarised as follows : 



'J'lie face is short, the cranium narrow behind the orbits and below the ears, giving 

 rise to very wide and deep tem[)oral fossae. The mandible is even shorter than in Fclis^ 

 and has the salient angle more marked. The sinuses are very large, occupying the 

 whole sagittal crest from the frontal to the siipra-occi[)ital. They are large also in the 

 occipital crest, which is formed by the supra-occii)ital without the addition of any inter- 

 parietal. The sinuses in the occi[)ital crest often have irregular openings to the surface. 

 The auditory bulla is simple and undivided by a septum, in this respect differing from that 

 of Felis. There is no alisphenoid canal. The pterygoid is prolonged into ])rominent, 

 backwardly directed, and sometimes hooked processes. The post-glenoid process of the 

 squamosal is better marked than in Fdis and Canis. In some cases processes of the 

 premaxillcC and frontals meet and separate the nasals from the maxillae, while in most 

 cases the nasals and maxilhjc are in contact for a short space ; iu the genera Ft'lis ami 

 Ccmis the nasals and maxillae are united along a wide surface. 



(2) Differeitces hclween the Skull of the L'wincj Ilyoeiia ci-ocuta and those of Hyaiua 

 striata and Ilysena brunnea. — This subject was fully dealt with by Cuvier and 

 de Blainville, and subsequently by Busk.^ The points of difference are as follows : 



1. The space partially enclosed between the truncated ends of the nasal bones is 

 relatively wider, and its posterior opening is less acute in H. cr acuta than in //. striata. 



2. In //. crocuta the auditory ])ulla is considerably more inflated than in H. striata. 



3. The mastoid process of the [)eriotic is more compressed in //. striata than in 

 //. crocuta. 



4. The anterior palatine foramina are relatively larger in H. striata than in //. crocuta. 



5. The rotundity and fulness of the [)arietal region of the skull is greater in H. 

 crocuta than in //. striata. 



G. The sagittal crest, as noted by Cuvier, is more compressed and distinct in IL striata 

 than in //. crocuta. 



7. The post-orbital process of the frontal is less prominent in //. crocuta than in 

 H. striata. 



8. The pteiTgoid process is narrower in //. crocuta than in //. striata. 



9. The zygomatic arch is less arched in //. crocuta than in //. striata. 



10. The angle of the mandible is more pronounced in //. crocuta than iu //. striata. 



11. Tlie jawbones and zygomatic arch are thicker iu //. crocuta than iu //. striata. 



^ ' Oss. Foss.,' od. 3, iv, p. 381. ^ ' Osteographio : Hyenes,' p. 10. 



^ ' Jourti. Linn. Soc. (Zool.),' ix, p. 59. 



