﻿26 PLEISTOCENE MAMMALIA. 



first phalange the correct digit have been felt by us ; and, though we give figures of 

 specimens in the order in which we believe them to occur, we are by no means confident 

 that we are right in all, particularly as the great variation in size has added to our diffi- 

 culty in that respect. 



Generally speaking, the first phalanges of Felis spelaea present the usual character- 

 istics of the genus. The deeply concave proximal articulation, the border of which is 

 broken by a deep depression posteriorly (figs. 6, 7, 8, 9, a, b), the pulley-like distal articula- 

 tion, and the strongly marked muscular attachment on the lower surface, are common 

 alike to the Eelidge and to the other carnivora ; whereas, the less taper form of the shaft, 

 swelling out laterally and frontally on the anterior surface towards the distal epiphysis 

 (figs. 6, 7, 8, 9, c, d), the deeper proximal articulation, and the less strongly marked 

 muscular attachments below, distinguish the feline phalanges from those of the bear's, 

 which are, as far as this species is concerned, the only phalanges that are likely to be con- 

 founded with them. 



As we state above, the great variety in size added much to the difficulty of determining 

 the proper place of each phalange, but we came to the determination to trust to form 

 alone, and to figure the largest of each form which we found most to resemble the corre- 

 sponding bone in the lion. 



Most of the phalanges we have seen are from that great depository of feline remains, 

 Bleadon Cavern, in the Mendip, though we have good specimens from Sandford Hill, 

 Oreston, Caldy, and other places. 



The phalanges of the hind paw may easily be distinguished from those of the front by 

 the superior stoutness in proportion to their length ; the flexure also is not so great. 

 There is but little difference, except in size, between those of digits 3 and 4 ; but 

 we have always found that of digit 2 curved at least slightly, but sometimes considerably, 

 outwards towards the centre of the paw, and to have the distal articulation set at an inward 

 angle of about 60° to the shaft of the bone (fig. 6, e). This angle is sometimes, but not 

 always, followed in the corresponding phalange of digit 3 (fig. 7, e) ; that of digit 

 4 being always at right angles (fig. 8, e), and that of digit 5 being set inwardly also at 

 an angle of about 60° (fig. 9, e). This last digit is always strongly curved inwards. The 

 outer may be distinguished from the inner side, in all the digits, by comparing the form 

 of the sides of the posterior depression in the border of the proximal articulation. The 

 angle at the summit of the outer side is nearly a right angle (figs. 6, 7, 8, 9, a) ; the 

 inner side is more or less sloped, so that this angle at the summit is obtuse (figs. 6, 7, 8, 

 9, b). 



All those we figure are from Bleadon, and are nearly, if not quite, equal in size to the 

 largest we have seen elsewhere, and are vastly superior in size to those of any living Feles ; 

 but there are many fossil specimens of phalanges which do not differ in size or proportion 

 from those of the existing lion and tiger. 



