36 
CARNIVORES. 
It is noteworthy that, with the exception of the one Old World genus, no remains 
of this family have ever been discovered beyond the limits of the New World. 
The Panda. 
Genus AElurus. 
The curious animal represented in the accompanying illustration, and known 
as the panda (AElnrus fulgens), is one in regard to whose serial position there has 
been much diversity of opinion. It was at one time placed in the bear family, 
next to the parti-coloured bear; while it has also been regarded as the repre¬ 
sentative of a distinct family by itself. Mr. Blanford has, however, come to the 
conclusion that its true position is in the raccoon family, and it is probable that 
this view will be pretty generally adopted in the future. 
The panda, or, as it is often called, the red cat-bear, is restricted to the South- 
Eastern Himalaya, and may be compared in size to a large cat. Externally it is 
characterised by its broad and rounded head, in which the muzzle is extremely 
short, the small eyes are directed forwards, and the ears are of considerable size. 
The stout limbs are furnished with large, curved, and sharp claws, which can be 
partially retracted; and the soles of the large feet are covered with hair. The 
tail is long and rather thick, its length being nearly equal to that of the body, or 
rather more than two-thirds of that of the head and body together. The fur is 
long and thick, with a woolly under-fur. 
In colour, a large portion of the fur of the panda is a bright, rusty red, of 
somewhat variable shade; this colour prevailing on the back, the upper part 
of the head, and the darker rings on the tail. The forehead is of a lighter tint of 
red, as are also the paler rings on the tail, its tip being black. The under-parts 
and the inner-surfaces of the limbs are black, tending to a brownish tint on the 
abdomen. The face, like the lower lips, is white, except for a vertical stripe of 
red proceeding from each eye to the angle of the mouth. Occasionally, how¬ 
ever, as in the specimen here figured, there is also a red stripe running down 
the middle of the nose. The inner surface of the ears are also white, as are also 
the claws. A large male panda measured 24 inches from the tip of the snout to 
the root of the tail; while the length of the tail was 17 inches without the hair 
at the end, and 19J inclusive of the hair. Other specimens measured respectively 
20 and 22 inches to the root of the tail. 
It is, however, not only externally that the panda is a remarkable creature. 
In its skull and teeth it is very unlike other Carnivores. Thus the skull is 
remarkably short, with the profile from the front teeth to the occiput forming a 
regular curve, which approximates to a semicircle. The lower jaw is also 
remarkable for its extremely convex and regularly-curved inferior border, and 
also for the great length of the portion which ascends on the sides of the skull. 
The total number of teeth in the panda is 38, of which, on each side of the jaws. 
§ are incisors, ]- incisors, f premolars, and § molars. The canines, or tusks, are 
of no great size, but are remarkably flattened from side to side. The upper 
molars have very wide crowns, which are nearly square in outline, and carry 
