DEFINITION OF CARNIVORA 
compressed, not at all like hoofs or nails, though, of 
course, all these structures are absolutely of the same 
essential nature, and even intergrade in some groups. 
This character alone is, however, not sufficient to dis- 
tinguish the carnivora. Various rodents and insecti- 
vores possess claws which are more or less sharp. But 
no rodent possesses what the carnivora always possess, 
and that is long and strong canine teeth for seizing 
their living prey. Here again is a character which 
does not, in conjunction even with the last, absolutely 
mark off the carnivora from all other mammals, for 
the insectivora possess the same canines, which are 
in many cases quite as strongly developed as in the 
carnivora. By two external characters it is always 
possible to distinguish between carnivora and in- 
sectivora, though the otter-like insectivorous creature, 
the West African Potamogale, is very ‘‘ carnivorous ”’ 
in appearance, and only possesses one of these char- 
acters, and that in not a very marked degree. In the 
insectivora the upper jaw and nose projects as a rule 
beyond the lower, and thus forms a kind of proboscis. 
Again, the skin of the insectivorous mammal has a 
distinct tendency to run to spines. No carnivore has 
a proboscis, and none are at all spiny. Finally, while 
the insectivora are all small, and often quite small, the 
carnivora are, with the exception of the weasel, at least 
moderate-sized, and often rather big, as is the case with 
bears, lions, and tigers. There is at least one obvious 
internal character which absolutely distinguishes all 
the living members of the two orders. The carnivora 
have a better developed brain than the insectivora ; 
indeed, in the latter it is at a very low ebb, being almost 
smooth, and the cerebral hemispheres are small. 
Now that we have got at a definition of the carnivora, 
which includes all of the diverse animals which con- 
stitute the order, it will be necessary to consider their 
go 
i 
Ee 
