Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 15.djvu/465

Rh CARNIVORA.] MAMMALIA 441 giving an almost quadrate form to the crown. First molar with a large tuberculated crown, rather broader than long. Second con siderably smaller, with transversely oblong crown. Lower sec- torial with an extremely small and ill-defined blade, placed trans versely in front, and a large inner tubercle and heel. Second molar as long as the first, but narrower behind, with five obtuse cusps. Vertebra; : C 7, D 14, L 6, S 3, C 16-20. Body stout. Head broad behind, but with a pointed muzzle. Limbs plantigrade, but in walking the entire sole is not applied to the ground as it is when the animal is standing. Toes, especially of the fore foot, very free, and capable of being spread wide apart. Claws compressed, curved, pointed, and non-retractile. Tail moderately Ion,?, cylindrical, thickly covered with hair, annulated, non-prehensile. Fur long, thick, and soft. The well-known Raccoon (Procyon lotor) of North America is the type of this genus. It is replaced in South America by P. cancrivorus. Bassaris. A form closely allied to Procyon, but of more slender and elegant proportions, with sharper nose, longer tail, and more digitigrade feet, and with teeth otherwise like, but smaller, and more sharply denticulated. It was formerly, but erroneously, placed among the Vivcrridie. Two species : B. astuta, from the southern parts of the United States and Mexico, and B. sumi- chrasti, from Central America. Bassaricyon. This name has recently (1876) been given to a distinct modification of the Procyonine type of which at present only two examples are known, one from Costa Eica and the other from Ecuador, which, appearing to be different species, have been named B. gabbi and B. allcni. They much resemble the Kinkajou (Cercolcptcs) in external appearance, but the skull arid teeth are more like those of Procyon and Nasua. Nasua. Dentition as in Procyon, but the upper canines are larger and more strongly compressed, and the molars smaller. The facial portion of the skull is more elongated and narrow. Vertebrae : C 7, D 14, L 6, S 3, C 22-23. Body elongated and rather compressed. Nose prolonged into a somewhat upturned, obliquely truncated, 7Tiobile snout. Tail long, non-prehensile, tapering, annulated. These animals, commonly called Coatis or Coati-Mundis, live in small troops of eight to twenty, are chiefly arboreal, and feed on fruits, young birds, eggs, insects, &c. Recent researches have re duced the number of supposed species to two, N. narica of Mexico and Central America, and N. rufa of South America from Surinam to Paraguay. Cercolcptcs. Dentition : if, c, p f , m f = 36. Molars with low flat crowns, very obscurely tuberculated. Skull short and rounded, with Hat upper surface. Vertebrae: C 7, D 14, L 6, S 3, C 26-28. Clavicles present, but in a very rudimentary condition. Head broad and round. Ears short. Body long and musteline. Limbs short. Tail long, tapering, and prehensile. Fur short and soft. Tongue long and very extensile. But one species of this somewhat aberrant genus is known, C. caudivolvulus, the Kink ajou, found in the forests of the warmer parts of South and Central America. It is about the size of a Cat, of a uniform pale, yellow ish-brown colour, nocturnal and arboreal in its habits, feeding on fruit, honey, eggs, and small birds and mammals, and is of a tolerably gentle disposition and easily tamed. Family AILURIIVE. Formed for the reception of one genus, resembling the ProcyonidiE in the number of true molar teeth, but differing in some cranial characters, especially the presence of an alisphenoid canal, and in its Asiatic habitat. Ailurus. Dentition: i f, c, p f, m. f; total 38. First lower premolar very minute and deciduous. Molars remarkable for their great transverse breadth, and the numerous cusps of their crowns. Vertebra : C 7, D 14, L 6, S 3, C 18. Skull high and compressed. Facial portion short. Ascending ramus of mandible extremely high. Head round. Face short and broad. Ears large, erect, pointed. Limbs stout, plantigrade, with large blunt non-retractile claws. Tail nearly as long as body, cylindrical, clothed with long hairs. Fur long and thick. One species, A.fulgens, the Panda, rather larger than a Cat, found in the south-east Himalayas, at heights of from 7000 to 12,000 feet above the sea, among rocks and trees, and chiefly feeding on fruits and other vegetable substances. Its fur is of a remarkably rich reddish-brown colour, darker below. Family URSID.E. True molars f, with broad, flat, tuberculated crowns. The three anterior premolars of both jaws rudimentary and often deciduous. Fourth upper premolar (sectorial) with no third or inner root. No alisphenoid canal (except in Ailuropus]. Kidneys conglomerate. Geographical distribution extensive. Ailuropus. An interesting annectant form connecting the true Bears with Ailurus and with several extinct genera. Dentition : first to last, and two-rooted except the first. Fir.st upper molar with quadrate crown, broader than long. Second larger than the first. Cranium with zygomatic arches and sagittal crest immensely developed, and ascending ramus of mandible very high, giving greater spaces for attachments of temporal muscle than in any other existing member of the order. Facial portion short. Bony palate not extending behind the last molar tooth. An alisphenoid canal. Feet bear-like, but soles more hairy, and perhaps less completely FIG. 121. Ailuropus melanoleucu?. From A. Milne-Ed wards. plantigrade. Fur long and thick. Tail very short. One extremely rare species, A. melanolcucus (fig. 121), discovered by Pere David in 1869, in the most inaccessible mountains of eastern Tibet. Said to feed principally on roots, bamboos, and other vegetables. It is of the size of a small Brown Bear, of a white colour, with ears, spots round the eyes, shoulders, and limbs black. Ursus. Dentition : i f, c-,p$, m | = 42. The three anterior premolars above and below one-rooted, rudimentary, and frequently wanting. Usually the first (placed close to the canine) is present, and after a considerable interval the third, which is situated close to the other teeth of the molar series. The second is very rarely present in the adult state. The fourth (upper sectorial) differs essentially from the corresponding tooth of other Carnivores in wanting the inner lobe supported by a distinct root. Its sectorial characters are very slightly marked. The crowns of both the true molars are longer than broad, with flattened, tuberculated, grinding surfaces. The second has a large backward prolongation or heel. The lower sectorial has a small and indistinct blade and greatly developed tubercular heel. The second molar is of about the same length, but with a broader and more flattened tubercular crown. The third is smaller. The milk teeth are comparatively small, and shed at an early age. Skull more or less elongated. Orbits small and incomplete behind. Palate prolonged considerably behind the last molar tooth. Vertebra : C 7, D 14, L 6, S 5, C 8-10. Body heavy. Feet broad, completely plantigrade. The five toes on each foot all well-developed, and armed with long compressed and moderately curved, non-retractile claws. Palms and soles naked. Tail very short. Ears moderate, erect, rounded, hairy. Fur gene rally long, soft, and shaggy. The Bears are all animals of considerable bulk, and include among them the largest members of the order. Though the species are not numerous, they are widely spread over the earth s surface (but absent from the Ethiopian and Australian regions, and only represented by one species in the Neotropical region), and differ much among themselves in their food and manner of life. They are mostly omnivorous or vegetable feeders, and even the Polar Bear, usually purely carnivorous or piscivorous, devours grass with avidity in summer. The various species may be grouped in the following sections. (1) Thalassarctos. Head comparatively small, molar teeth small and narrow. Soles more covered with hair than in the other sections. U. maritimus, the Polar or White Bear of the Arctic regions. (2) Ursus proper. U. ardos, the common Brown Bear of Europe and Asia, a very variable species, to which U. syriacus and isabellinus, if distinct, are nearly related ; U. liorribilis, the Grizzly Bear, an American represen tative form ; U. tibetanus, japonicus, and amcricanus, the Black Bears of the Himalayas, Japan, and North America ; U. ornatus, the Spectacled Bear of the Peruvian Andes. (3) Helarctos. Head short and broad. Molar teeth comparatively broad (but the length still exceeding the breadth). Tongue very long and extensile. Fur short and smooth. U. malayanus, the Malay Bear or Sun Bear. See BEAR. Mclursus. This differs from the true Bears in the first upper incisor being absent or shed at a very early age, in the very small XV. 56
 * 5&amp;gt; c T. P $, m f ; total 40. Premolars increasing in size from