Lynx 
Where these three animals were seen by me prairie-dogs were 
common, the young only three quarters grown, a nice morsel 
for a badger, and easy for him to dig out, so that he had no 
need for partners, though no doubt the coyotes would have 
found him useful in getting prairie-dogs for them, provided 
he was willing to do so. 
Family FELIDiE 
This family comprises the cats and their allies. These 
are digitigrade carnivora with the fore limbs with five and 
the hind limbs with four toes; the claws borne by these are 
strongly curved, compressed, sharp and retractile; skull and 
head short and round. Other characteristics: auditory bullae 
dilated, rounded, smooth, thin-walled, and divided into two 
chambers; auditory meatus short; paroccipital process applied 
to and spread over the bulla; mastoid process not much de- 
veloped; carotid canal small and inconspicuous; condyloid 
and glenoid foramina concealed or wanting; caecum small. 
Dentition: i. |; c. {; pm. ■^-^; m. | X 2 = 28 or 30; the 
most remarkable tooth is the last premolar of the upper jaw, 
which, w^ith the solitary molar of the lower, forms a pair of 
sharp-cutting blades acting like scissors and termed the 
carnassials; the solitary upper true molar is small and placed 
transversely; the canines are large and strong and the incisors 
small and weak. 
Key of the Genera 
A. Ears tufted; tail short, less than half the length of the body 
without head ; two upper premolars only. Lynx, p. 251 
B. Ears not tufted; tail long, exceeding half the length of the 
body without head ; three upper premolars. Fells, p. 255 
Genus LYNX (Latin name of animal) 
Lynx Kerr, Anim. Kingd., i., p. 32; desc. p. 155 (1792). Type 
Felis lynx Linnaeus. 
