CARNIVORA. 



591 



iELUROIDEA. 

 .g.f cat, civet, hyaena. 



Digitigrade. 



Typical dentition, gill- 



The tympanic bulla is much 

 dilated, rounded_ and thin- 

 walled, and is divided in- 

 to two chambers by an 

 internal septum (except 

 in HyaenidEe). 



The paroccipital process 

 of the ex-occipital is ap- 

 plied to the hinder part 

 of the tympanic bulla. 



The caecum is small, rarely 

 absent. 



CYNOIDEA. 

 e.g., dog, fox, wolf, jackal. 



Digitigrade. 



Typical dentition, §tH- 



The tympanic bulla is dila- 

 ted, but the internal sep- 

 tum is rudimentary. 



The paroccipital process is 

 in contact with the bulla, 

 but it is prominent. 



The caecum is sometimes 

 short and simple, some- 

 times long and peculiarly 

 folded. 



ARCTOIDEA. 



e.g.y bear, otter. 



Plantigrade or sub-planti- 

 grade. 



Typical dentition, ^tJf. 



The tympanic.buUa is often 

 depressed, and there is 

 no hint of an internal 

 septum. 



The paroccipital process 

 is quite apart from the 

 bulla. 



The Ceccum is absent. 



In retractile claws, the last phalanx of the digit with its attached claw 

 is drawn back into a sheath on the outer side of the middle phalanx in 

 the fore-foot, on the upper side in the hind-foot. When the animal is 

 at rest or is walking, the claw is retained in this bent position by 

 an elastic ligament, and is in this way protected. When the animal 

 straightens the phalanges, the claws are protruded. 



Digitigrade animals walk on their toes only, plantigrade forms plant 

 the whole sole of the foot on the ground, but between these conditions 

 there are all possible gradations. Most Carnivores are sub-plantigrade, 

 often when at rest applying the whole of the sole to the ground, but 

 keeping the heel raised to a greater or less extent when walking. 



^luroidea — Cat-like Carnivores. 



Family Felidge, including the most specialised forms. The canines 



are large, the molars are reduced to J, the carnassials are the last 



premolars above (with a three-lobed blade), and the molars 



beneath (with a two-lobed blade). The skull is generally rounded, 



the zygomatic arches are wide and strong, the tympanic bullae are 



large and smooth. The limbs are digitigrade, the claws retractile. 



There is no alisphenoid canal. The dentition of the typical 



genus Pelis is f tIt- 



Examples : — The lion {Feiis leo) in Africa, Mesopotamia, Persia, 



N. W. India ; the tiger {F. tigris), widely distributed in Asia; 



the leopard {F. pardus) in Africa, India, Ceylon, Sumatra, 



Borneo, etc.; the wild cat [F, cattes); the Caffre cat {F. caffra) 



of Africa and S. Asia, venerated and mummified by the 



Egyptians, perhaps ancestral to the domestic cat ; the puma or 



