HOW ANIMALS EAT. 



01 



brates is a cavity with a fixed roof (the hard palate) and 

 a movable floor (the tongue and lower jaw), having a trans- 

 verse opening in front, 22 and a narrow outlet behind, lead- 

 ing to the gullet. Save in Birds and some others, the 

 cavity is closed in front with lips, and the margins of the 

 jaws are set with teeth. 



In Fishes the mouth is the common entry to both the 

 digestive and respiratory organs ; it is, therefore, large, 

 and complicated by a mechanism for regulating the tran- 

 sit of the food to the stomach and the aerated w T ater to the 

 gills. The slits leading to the gills are provided with 

 rows of processes which, like a sieve, prevent the entrance 

 of food, and with valves to keep the water, after it has en- 

 tered the gills, from returning to the mouth. So that the 

 mouths of Fishes may be said to be armed at both ends 

 with teeth-bearing jaws. A few Fishes, as the Sturgeon, 

 are toothless ; but, as a class, they have an extraordinary 

 dental apparatus — not only the upper and lower jaws, but 

 even the palate, tongue, and throat being sometimes stud- 

 ded with teeth. Every part of the mouth is evidently 

 designed for prehension and mastication. Lips are usu- 

 ally present ; but the tongue is often absent, or very small, 

 and as often aids respiration as ingestion. * 



Amphibians and Reptiles have a wide mouth ; even the 

 insect-feeding Toads and the Serpents can stretch theirs 

 enormously. True fleshy lips are wanting; hence the 

 savage aspect of the grinning Crocodile. With some ex- 

 ceptions, as Toads and Turtles, the jaws are armed with 

 teeth. Turtles are provided with horny beaks. The 

 tongue is rarely absent, but is generally too thick and 

 short to be of much use. In the Toad and Frog it is sin- 

 gularly extensile : rooted in front and free behind, it is 

 shot from the mouth with such rapidity that the insect is 

 seized and swallow T ed more quickly than the eye can fol- 

 low. The Chameleon's tongue is also extensile. Snakes 



