Page:Natural History (1848).djvu/72

62 All the families of the order do not, however, possess the carnivorous appetite, or the destructive power, in the same degree. The character of the molar teeth indicates, with the utmost precision, the extent to which the flesh-eating propensity exists in any animal of this order. In the Cats (Felidæ) the most typical of all, the molars terminate at their summits in triangular lobes, the edges of which cut like lancets; and they have but one small tuberculous tooth on each side, and that only in the upper jaw. On the other hand, the Bears (Ursidæ), most of which feed largely on vegetable substances, have nearly all the molar teeth tuberculated. Yet from one of these extremes to the other, there runs a series of modifications forming an almost uninterrupted chain.

The present order is one of great extent; and its numerous species are widely distributed over both continents. Among those which inhabit tropical regions, are found the most ferocious and most formidable of quadrupeds. It comprises six families, Ursidæ, Musteladæ, Felidæ, Viverradæ, Canidæ, and Phocadæ. In the slowness and nocturnal habits of the Bears, we recognise their affinity to the last order; and no less in the fact that most of the species which inhabit cold and temperate climates, pass the winter in a state of torpid insensibility. They lay the whole sole of the foot on the ground in walking, which gives them a heavy shuffling gait,