14 
ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. 
believe, upon the petty rapine of a hive of bees and the 
honied produce of their comb. Still there exist such 
decisive marks of a diminished capacity for preying on 
animal food in the thick-set and clumsy form of its 
body, the shortness of its limbs, its partially planti- 
grade vs^alk, the structure of its clavs^s, the elongation 
of its muzzle, and even in the form of the teeth them- 
selves, as to induce us to pause before w^e determine to 
reject the popular testimony as unv^orthy of credit, 
although v\^e must regard it as doubtful on some par- 
ticular points, and insufficient and imperfect on the 
w^hole. 
The teeth of this curious animal, according to M. F. 
Cuvier's figures and description, confirmed by our own 
observations on two specimens preserved in the Society's 
Museum, and as far as possible on the living animal, 
consist of the six incisors common to nearly all carni- 
vorous quadrupeds, two canines, and eight cheek-teeth 
in each j aw. The incisors have little to distinguish 
them from those of the neighbouring groups. The 
canines are remarkably thick and strong, especially in 
the lower jaw, and are somewhat triangular in their 
general outline. In the upper jaw the cheek-teeth are 
composed of two false molars with conical and pointed 
crowns, one lacerator, and one tubercular, arranged 
exactly in the same manner as in the Cats. The lace- 
rator, however, presents a much greater extent of surface 
than in those animals, and the tubercular tooth placed 
within its posterior angle expands into a flattened 
crown of considerable size. In the lower jaw there are 
three false molars anterior to the broad and powerful 
lacerator, and no tubercular tooth behind it. These 
characters are so peculiar that it is no longer possible, 
with any regard to systematic consistency, to confound 
the animal to which they belong, either with the Civets, 
