52 MAMMALIA— ORDER IV.—CARNIVORA. 



single bone. Moreover, the central bone of the wrist, which is present in all 

 the Primates, save man and some of the man-like apes in the Carnivora, is 

 invariably lacking. From the Insectivora the Carnivora are further distin- 

 guished by the numerous convolutions on the surface of the large hemispheres 

 of the brain. 



In common with the three following families of the terrestrial Carnivora, the 

 cats are distinguished from the other members of the order by certain very im- 

 portant structural features connected with the hinder part of 

 The Cat Tribe. — the base of the skull. In all these families that chamber of 

 Pamily Felidce. the inner ear known as the auditory bulla forms a thin blad- 

 der-like expansion, divided (except in the hyaenas) into two 

 compartments by a vertical bony partition ; while the bony auditory meatus, 

 or tube, leading into this bulla, is remarkable for its shortness. From their 

 allies, existing cats are distinguished by the strong development of the canine 

 teeth, by the molar teeth never exceeding one pair in both the upper and 

 lower jaws, and also by the three pairs of incisors occupying the same trans- 

 verse line, instead of the middle pair being pushed up above the level of the 

 other two. The single upper molar is a flat functionless tooth, with its 

 crown considerably wider than long, and placed on the iiuier side of the 

 upper carnassial, which consists of three distinct lobes. The lower molar, or 

 carnassial, is a highly specialised tooth, usually consisting solely of a two-lobed 

 cutting blade, akhough in a few species a small ledge on its hinder surface 

 represents the large heel characteriaing the same tooth in most other members 

 of the order. There are three upper and two lower premolars; the last in 

 the upper jaw being the carnassial, and the first small and functionless. The 

 skull, in conformity with the shape of the head, is characterised by the short- 

 ness of its facial portion and the great width of the zygomatic arches. The 

 general form of the cats is too well known to need description ; but it may 

 be mentioned that the fur is generally thick and close, and that its markings 

 usually take the form either of dark transverse stripes, spots, rosettes, or 

 dark-margined cloudings on a lighter ground. As a rule, the tail is long, 

 cylindrical, and tapering ; while it is very frequently marked with dark and 

 light rings. _ In the extreme elongation of the body, a few cats, like the 

 South American eyra, approximate to the civet-tribe ; but, in most cases, the 

 body is of moderate length, and the limbs by no means remarkably short. All 

 cats have five front and four hind toes, the first front toe being raised above 

 the others. They walk on the tips of their toes, in the digicigrade manner ; 

 and in the great majority the claws are capable of complete retraction within 

 hollow horny sheaths, by specially arranged muscles, and are thus always kept 

 sharp and fit; for use. In the hunting-leopard this, however, is not the case, 

 and that animal is accordingly referred to a genus apart from the one con- 

 taining the whole of the other species. The tongue" of cats is remarkable 

 for the rough rasping papillte with which its upper surface is coated ; and in the 

 eye the pupil, when contracted, frequently assumes the form of a vertical slit. 



With the exception of New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand, cats have 

 .1 world-wide distribution, and inhabit all climates and stations, save the ex- 

 treme north. 



The typical cats (Fdis), which include about forty-six difi"erent species, and 

 have a distribution co-extensive with that of tha family, are characterised by 

 the claws being capable of withdrawal into the aforesaid protecting sheaths, 

 and likewise by the presence of a distinct tubercle on the inner side of the 

 ujjper carnassial tooth. The largest and most powerful members of the genua 



