THE CARNIVORES 179 



which feed solely upon warm-blooded animals. In the Cats, 

 therefore, the purely carnivorous dentition is seen in its full 

 perfection. 



In the domestic Cat, Felis domesticus (Fig. 62) the incisors 

 are small and set transversely; the canines are long; the first 

 upper premolar very small, often absent; the second larger, 

 the third sectorial. The two lower premolars are comparatively 

 simple and the second is the larger; the single upper molar ves- 



Fig. 62. — Dentition of Cat (Felis domesticus, 9.7421-13). The Cats exhibit the extreme 

 type of carnivorous dentition. 



tigial and the lower sectorial. The last upper (sectorial) pre- 

 molar shows a molariform appearance with a trigon and a meta- 

 cone-metastyle shear. The lower molar, also sectorial, has lost 

 all vestige of cusps save the protoconid and the paraconid which 

 form a typical carnassial shear. 



In this family as in the Carnivora as a rule the condyle is low 

 and the palate terminates near the level of the last molar. 

 It becomes apparent then that the low position of the condyle 

 is the most satisfactory for the flesh-eater, and it is only in 



