SYSTEM OF NATURE. 
17 
and incisors in this subgenus, and of the latter teeth he 
affirms that they are entirely similar to those of ruminants. 
Cuvier concludes his description of the teeth and jaws of 
these ruminant-like Anoplotheria by the following empha¬ 
tic statement ,—‘ Or, cette dentition, cette forme de branche 
montante, cette grandeur meme, resemblent prodigieuse- 
ment a ce qu’on observe dans les jeunes chevrotains. ’— 
(loc. cit. p. 65.)” 
The abnormal placentals now require a brief notice; and 
although I am far from being inclined to insist on the ex¬ 
istence of a very decided connexion between groups sup¬ 
posed to form a circle, y6t I think, from a perusal of the 
observations immediately following, it will appear that 
there exists a degree of completeness and unity in the re¬ 
lative position of the six groups containing the subnormal 
and abnormal placentals, — a completeness and unity that 
would be equally destroyed by the intervention of the 
Primates at any point of the circle, as by the transposition, 
in any instance, of a subnormal and abnormal group. 
Moreover, several striking departures from normal struc¬ 
ture, observable in the abnormal groups, and now abun¬ 
dantly accounted for by their proximity to the Primates, 
would, by the removal of that group from the centre, ap¬ 
pear nothing better than capricious deviations from uni¬ 
formity of design. 
1st. The Cheiroptera , ornitlioid placentals, or bats. In 
this group I am inclined to place the remarkable genus Ga- 
leopithecus, not merely because Cuvier has thus decided, 
but because its structure, combined with its nocturnal habits 
and insect food, appear quite in favor of his decision. It 
is said, when at rest, to hang by its hinder claws, with its 
head downwards. The genus Pteropus, comprising the 
c 
