230 



THE YOUNG 



NATUEALIST. 



in the scale of life, The following is in- 

 tended merely as a sketch lesson of the 

 different families of the Mammalia, from 

 the highest to the lowest, taken in succes- 

 sive order, so as to give a general knowledge 

 of the group without going too much into 

 detail. 



Vertebrate animals are those which have 

 an internal skeleton, supported by a central 

 spinal column or back-bone, and form the 

 highest division of the animal kingdom. 

 They are divided into the following classes : 



I. MAMMALS. 



II. BIRDS. 



III. REPTILES. 



IV. FISHES. 



I. Mammalia* 



(Latin mamma, a teat or pap), comprises 

 those red, warm-blooded animals which 

 suckle their young, There are about 2,000 

 species knovv'n, of which only 75 are found 

 in this country. They are divided into the 

 following Orders : — ' 



I. BIMANA (Latin bis twice, mayius hand). 

 This order contains but a single species 

 (including several races or geographical 

 varieties;, Man {Homo sapiens). He is dis- 

 tributed over the whole surface of the 

 globe, and is the most highly developed 

 mammal in the scale of being, and the 

 latest in appearance geologically. His 

 antiquity can be traced back for a period 

 estimated by some at 20,000 years. The 

 different races are 



The Caucasian Race (supposed to have 

 originated near Mount Caucasus), which 

 includes the European population, is distin- 

 guished by the round head, beauty of face, 

 fair skin, and straight hair, and for the 

 perfection of their moral and intellectual 

 qualities. In some parts of the north of 

 Europe they have red hair and fair skin ; 

 but in the south and North Africa the hair 



* Arranged according to Professor O'wen. 



is black, or nearly so, and the skin darker 

 or sunburnt. 



The Mongolian Race, which extends 

 over Central and Eastern Asia has the face 

 fiat ; forehead low, oblique, and angular ; 

 cheek bones prominent ; eyes small, and set 

 obliquely ; the beard spare ; hair long and 

 black ; and the skin yellov/, as in the Chi- 

 nese and Japanese. 



The Mal.ay Race occupies the islands 

 of the Indian Archipelago, New Zealand, 

 Chatham Islands, Society Islands, Philip- 

 pines, Formosa, and several of the Poly- 

 nesian Islands. They are dark ; have lank, 

 coarse, black hair ; flat faces ; and obliquely 

 set eyes. They vary greatly in moral and 

 intellectual capacity. The extreme northern 

 population of Greenland, Lapland, and the 

 Esquimaux are generally referred to this 

 race. 



The Ethiopian Race, or negro has the 

 skull compressed ; face small ; flat nose ; 

 prominent jaws, thick lips ; woolly and 

 crisped hair ; and black skin. They range 

 over South Africa, Australia, Mindanao, 

 Gillolo, Borneo, Sumbawa, Timor, and New 

 Ireland. 



The American Race is variable, but is 

 generally characterized by a coppery skin ; 

 spare beard, and long black hair. Nose 

 often prominent ; eyes large, regular, and 

 the lids widely opened. 



2. QUAD RUM AN A (Latin quatuor-ioyir , 

 wanws-hands). This order includes the apes, 

 m.onkeys, marmozets, and lemurs. The 

 tailless apes, as the chimpanzee, and gorilla 

 approaches nearest to man in organization, 

 but the arms are always longer, and the legs 

 shorter in proportion to the body. The 

 different species are found principally in 

 the old world, and live either entirely or 

 chiefly on fruit. Many manifest a consider- 

 able amount of intelligence. 



The continental mass of the old world 

 contains the bulk of the monkey and ape 

 tribe, Madagascar has only lemurs. America 



