CLASS I. MAMMALIA: ORDEE 5. CARNIVORA. 
153 
SKULL OF A BEAR. 
acute, especially in the most decidedly carnivorous species, wliere they are so long that there 
is usually a gap between the incisors and canines in the upper jaw, for the reception of the 
lower canine. Behind the canines, each jaw bears several false molars, the foremost of which 
are usually conical, and inserted by a simple root. The hinder ones gradually approach the form 
of the true molar, which is more or less com- 
pressed, sharj), and notched at the edge : this 
is commonly known as the Jlesh-tooth. Be- 
hind it there are often one or two tuberculous 
molars. 
In the cats and the most blood-thirsty spe- 
cies in general, the false molars are compressed 
and sharp, and the total number of molars is 
often reduced to three, which are all inserted 
by two or more roots, much compressed, and 
furnished with very sharp jagged edges, fitting 
against one another like the blades of a pair 
of scissors— an arrangement admirably adapted for cutting through the juicy fibers of the flesh 
of their victims. In proportion as the animals are intended for a mixed diet, the molar teeth 
become broader, and more tuberculate in their appearance ; this may be seen in the common 
dog, which is thus enabled to eat grass. To give effect to these sharp, cutting teeth, the lower 
jaw in the typical Carnivora is articulated to 
the skull by a regular hinge joint, and the 
transverse position of the condyle is distinctly 
perceptible even in the less rapacious species, 
although to a certain extent modified. The 
ascending ramus of the lower jaw, which gives 
attachment to the muscles by which the jaws 
are closed, is always \evj large, especially in 
the typical species. 
The skull and face are short and compact ; 
the former is usually marked with very strong 
ridges, for the attachment of the muscles of 
the lower jaw, and the zygomatic arches are 
very wide to allow of their passage. The or- 
bits are incomplete. The brain and organs of sense are always well developed ; the nose espe- 
cially, in many species, exhibits a greater degree of perfection than in any other animal. The 
eyes are usually large and full, and the pupils possess a great power of contraction and dilatation 
to adapt the creatures for their general nocturnal mode of existence. Nearly all the species 
possess a distinct external ear. The mouth is sur- 
rounded with soft lips, from which long whiskers 
project on each side ; these are supplied with 
nerves, and evidently constitute delicate tactile or- 
gans. The tongue is always long, thin, and free, 
and the animals drink by the well-known process 
of lapping. The mammae, which are always placed 
on the belly, are usually numerous, and many of the 
animals are very prolific. The young are usually 
born blind. 
Tlie form of the body, the development of the tail, the length of the legs, and the structure of 
the feet, vary greatly in the different families of this order. The toes are distinctly divided, and 
armed with claws ; they are usually five in number on the anterior, and four on the posterior 
feet, and none of them are ever opposable. The principal peculiarities in the construction of the 
feet have reference to the mode in which they are applied to the ground, and as this is in direct 
Vol. I.— 20 
SKULL OP A WOLF. 
SKULL OP A CIVET. 
