CARNIVORA., 777 
There is no alisphenoid canal. The dentition of the typicay 
genus Felzs is or The cats are the most specialised of all Car- 
nivores, and are exclusively adapted for a flesh diet. The 
sharp claws and pointed canines form powerful offensive 
weapons ; the cusped cheek-teeth and rasping tongue are em- 
ployed to separate the flesh from the bones of the prey. 
Examples.—The lion (els /eo), in Africa, Mesopotamia, Persia, 
N.-W. India; the tiger (7. tagris), widely distributed 
in Asia; the leopard (/. pardus), in Africa, India, Ceylon, 
Sumatra, Borneo, etc.; the wild cat (#. catus); the 
Caffre cat (F. caffra) of Africa and S. Asia, venerated and 
mummified by the Egyptians, perhaps ancestral to the 
domestic cat. 
A high degree of specialisation for carnivorous habit is well 
illustrated by the sabre-toothed tigers (M/acherodus) of Tertiary 
ages, whose serrated upper canines were sometimes 7 in. long. 
Family Viverride—Old World forms, such as civets (Vverra), of 
Africa and India; genets (Genetta), of S. Europe, Africa, and 
S.-W. Asia; ichneumons or mongooses (Herfestes), in Spain, 
Africa; India, Indo-Malaya. 
Family Proteleide—represented by Proteles cristatus, the hyzna- 
like aard-wolf of S. Africa. 
Family Hyzenidze—represented by the genus Ayena, found in 
Africa and S. Asia. The tympanic bulla is not divided by a 
septum. 
(2) CynorpEA—Dog-like Carnivores 
Family Canidee—including forms intermediate between the cats and 
the bears. The dentition is more generalised than in the 
Felidze, its usual formula is ae Within the tympanic bulla 
there is only a rudimentary septum. The paroccipital process 
in contact with the bulla is prominent. The czcum is either 
short and simple or long and peculiarly folded upon itself. 
Examples. —The genus Cazzs has representatives in all parts 
of the world,—the wolves (C. /upus, etc.), the jackals 
(C. aureus, mesomelas, etc.), the domestic dogs (C. fami. 
arts), the foxes (C. vulpes, etc.), the Cape hunting dog 
(Zycaon), the bush-dog (Le¢icyon) of Guiana and Brazil, and 
the primitive Otocyon megalotzs from S. Africa. In the dog 
the dental formula is Pe ; the upper carnassial or fourth pre- 
molar has a stout bilobed blade, the lower carnassial or first 
molar has a compressed bilobed blade. The skull is more 
elongated than in the cats; the orbits are very widely open 
posteriorly; the clavicles are very small; the limbs are 
digitigrade ; there are five toes on the fore-feet, but the short 
thumb does not reach the ground; there are only four toes 
on the hind-feet, but in domestic dogs the rudiment of the 
hallux is sometimes enlarged as the ‘‘dew-claw” ; the claws 
are non-retractile and blunt. 
