HOW ANIMALS ARE CLASSIFIED 5 



therefore, that each class is divided into smaller groups, which we 

 call orders, and which are distinguished by some feature in their 

 bodily structure of less importance than that which forms the 

 mark of the class. 



In the class of the Mammals, for example, we have the order 

 of the Beasts of Prey. We may know these by the character of 

 their teeth, which are formed, not so much for chewing the flesh 

 of their victims, as for tearing it from their bones. In the class 

 of Insects, again, we have the order of the Beetles, whose upper 



Some Backboned Animals 



wings are hard and horny, and are only used to protect the lower 

 pair when not in use. 



An order, in fact, is a small class, and a class is a small division. 

 And as a class of animals answers to the brigade of an army, so an 

 order answers to a regiment. 



But even this is not enough, for there are a great many beasts 

 of prey, for instance, that differ from one another in many 

 important respects. Thus, a hyzena is very different from a lion, 

 and a seal is very different from a wolf, and a bear from a panther. 



So we find that each order is naturally divided into smaller 



