440 G. I. Adams — Extinct Felidce of North America. 



Upper carnassial with or without anterior basal cusp. Lower 

 carnassial with talon. Lower jaw flattened at symphysis 

 and separated from the lateral face by an angle. Lower border 

 straight, more or less flared down in front. Femur frequently 

 with third trochanter. 



Felinse. — Dental formula f- \ \~z\ \. Canine conical, upper 

 and lower of about the same size ; the two anterior pms 

 lost. Upper carnassial with strong anterior basal cusp. Lower 

 carnassial without talon. Upper molar reduced, lower one lost. 

 Lateral surface of mandible not separated from the symphysis 

 by an angle. 



The Proselurinse include Procelurus Fil. and Pseudcelurus 

 Gerv., but some doubt is expressed concerning the relations of 

 Procelurus. From the creodont Palceonictis he derives the 

 Machserodinse, using Wortman's* suggestion in this respect, 

 while from an independent source in the Creodontia he derives 

 the Cryptoprocta and Felinse through Procelurus. 



Schlosserf in Affen Lemuren, u. s., in criticising Filhol, 

 expresses the opinion that Pseitdcelurus edwardsi is a true cat, 

 while Procelurus, Pseudcelurus intermedius and the prob- 

 lematical Cryptoprocta belong to another line. He points out 

 clearly the Yiverine relationships of Procelurus and rejects 

 it as a probable cat ancestor ; otherwise he accepts Cope's classi- 

 fication of the Felidse. 



Proposed phytogeny. 



As will be seen, these authors mutually criticise each other. 

 The determination of the relationships of Proselurus removes 

 the possibility of its being the ancestor of Pseudselurus and 

 the true cats, as has been suggested by Cope, and also destroys 

 the subfamily Proailurinse as established by Zittel. The 

 unusual method of classification employed by Cope and 

 accepted by Schlosser in this family, whereby Machserodont 

 genera are grouped with the true cats, is avoided by ZittePs 

 subfamilies Machserodinse and Felinse. These two subfamilies 

 are the equivalents of the Machserodontinse and Felinse pro- 

 posed by Grill J and his classification is here accepted, since it 

 has the priority, however referring Cyncelurus to the Felinse, 

 inasmuch as the separation into a distinct subfamily Guepar- 

 dinse cannot be maintained. The points upon which the Gue- 

 pardinse was established are the non-retractility of the claws 

 and the absence of the inner cusp of the superior sectorial. 

 The claws are retractile although less perfectly so than in other 



* Wortman, Ancestry of the Felidse, Bull. Ann. Mus., vol. iv, p. 94. 

 f Schlosser, Affen Lemuren, u. s., 1887, p. 420. 



% Theodore Gill, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collection, 230, Arrangement 'of 

 the Families of Mammals, 1872. 



