« I en loo '^. )-^ m ANIMAL ^ m ^^ Bjgy fiPuJL' '^yx,^<' Hflndl&iMth edor 7/3, •KtCMMNOr • __.; only If n to Staff do not cut in bc^ -crcc) ssrv tnfannation Centre '^f f^ (I he ■iLiliranj of till- lliiinrrsitij nf (Lin-nnta Professor A.F. Coventry Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2008 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/animalkingdomarrOOcuviuoft THE ANIMAL KINGDOM, ARRANGED AFTER ITS ORGANIZATION; FORMING A NATURAL HISTORY OF ANIMALS, AND AN INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE ANATOMY. BY THE LATE BARON CUVIER, COUNCILLOR OP FEANOE, AND MINISTER OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. TRANSLATED AND ADAPTED TO THE PRESENT STATE OF SCIENCE. NEW EDITION, WITH CONSIDERABLE ADDITIONS BY W. B. CARPENTER, M.D., F.R.S., AND J. O. WESTWOOD, F.L.S. ILLUSTRATED BY 500 ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD AND 44 ON STEEL. LONDON: HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 1863. > rtlHTKU BT i. X. ADLAKO, BABTHOLOMEW CLOSE. SEEN BY L£i[^ PREFACE. Perhaps no book was ever so soon, so generally, and with so little envy, ad mitted to take its place at the head of that department of knowledge to which it belongs, as the Regne Animal of the illustrious Baron Cuvier. This is a hio-h, but a just tribute, both to the work and the author ; for it at once showed that the former is what had long been required, and that the latter was as much admired for the comprehensive range and unprecedented accuracy of his views, as he was beloved for the kindness and urbanity of his manners. It must, indeed, be admitted, that, until Cuvier's great work made its appearance, we had no modern sj^stematic arrangement of animals which applied equally to all the Classes, Orders, and Famihes ; — which brought the extinct species into their proper situations in the living catalogue, and enabled every discoverer of a new animal, or part of an animal, instantly to connect it with its proper tribe or family. Important, however, as are the labours of this great naturalist, they could not possibly extend beyond the limits of what was known ; and as Cuvier was no speculative theorist, but a rigid adherent to nature and fact, be kept his system considerably within the limits of those who were more speculative, and consequently less accurate. For students, no work is equal to that of Cuvier, for it is at once compre- hensive and concise; and though the student may choose a particular depart- ment, aTid require books more in detail with reference to that department, lie must still have the Regne Animal to point out to him the general analogies of the living creation. The present work is a complete Cuvier, as regards the essential part of the arrangement ; and it is not a mere translation, but in some respects a new book, embodying the original one. The translations of the respective divisions of the work, and their adaptations to the advanced state of science, have been executed bv the undernoted icentle- men, viz. ; — iv PREFACE. The Mammalia, Birds, and Keptiles. By Edward Bljth, Esq. The Fishes and Radiata. By Robert :Mudie, Esq. The Molluscous Animals. By George Johnston, Esq., M.D. The Articulated Animals. By J. O. Westwood, Esq., F.L.S. Throughout the whole of these departments tliere will be found original remarks; but these are always distinguished from that which belongs to Cuvier, by being enclosed within brackets. This mode of arrangement was thought to be much better than the appending of notes, which always divide the attention of the reader, and weaken the interest of the subject. Many of the classes and orders have been reinvestigated, and many new species added. This is most extensively done in the departments which were intrusted to Mr. Blyth and Mr, Westwood; but it runs more or less throughout the whole ; and the publishers flatter themselves that this will be of great service to all students of this highly interesting branch of knowledge. The different sizes of type, which bear some proportion to the comparative importance of the subject, will enable the reader to glean an outline of the system ; — to obtain something more than a bare outline, he must read the entire work. To these remarks, which were appended in 1846 to the first edition, the publishers may be permitted to add a few words respecting the present reprint. It was not considered desirable to disturb the illustrious author's arrangement by the introduction of a more modern system, nor was it thought proper to overlook altogether, in a work professing to give a complete view of Animated Nature, the results of modern investigation. The publishers have, therefore, added supplementary articles to such branches as seemed to require it ; Dr. Carpenter kindly supplying what was wanting to the ^loUusca and Fishes, and Mr. Westwood performing the same to his own department of the work. In addition to these improvements, the work is now illustrated by thirty plates of Animals, etched by Mr. Thomas Landseer, and four plates repre- senting the different races of Mankind; and the publishers present it in its present form in the bvlief that it will merit public approbation. Stkau's Place, Lkith \\'ai,k. TABLE or CONTENTS. PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION, PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION, INTRODUCTION, Of Natural History, and of Systems gene- rally, ..... Of living Beings, and of Organization in general, .... Division of Organized Beings into Animal and Vegetable, Of the Forms peculiar to the Organic Ele- ments of the Animal Body, and of the principal Combinations of its Chemical Elements, .... Of the Forces vfhich act in the Animal Body, Summary idea of the Functions and Organs of the Bodies of Animals, and of their various degrees of complication, Of the Intellectual Functions of Animals, Of Method, as applied to the Animal King- dom, ..... General Distribution of the Animal King- dom in to four great Divisions — Vertebrate Animals, Molluscous Animals, Articulate Animals, Radiate Animals, VERTEBRATE ANIMALS, Subdivision into foinr Classes, MAMMALIA, . Division into Orders, BiMANA, or Man, Peculiar Conformation of Blan, Physical and Moral Development of Man, Varieties of the Human Species, QUADRUMANA, Jlonkey-like Animals, Monkeys of America, Caknaria, Cheiroptera, Insectivora, Camivora, Marsupiata, rodentia, Edentata, . . Ordinary Edpnt:itn, Monotremata, Page si sx 1 1 4 7 9 10 13 IG 19 20 23 25 26 29 35 Ol 42 42 48 52 55 65 70 88 95 110 112 114 pACHYDEftMATA, . Proboscidea, Ordinary Pacliydermata, Solidungula, RUMLSAJJTIA, Without horns, With horns, Cetacea, Herbivora, Ordinaria, Analogies of the Teeth of Mam MALIA, OVIPAROUS VERTEBRATES IN GENE RAL, . AVES, Division into Orders, ACCIPITRES, Diurnal Birds of Prey, Nocturnal Biids of Prey, PASSERINiE, Dentiiostres, Fissirostres, Conirostres, Tenuirostres, Syndactyli, scansores, Affinities of The Three preceding Orders, GaLLINjE, Grall^e, Brevipennes, Pressirostres, Cultrirostres, Longircstres, Macrodactyli, Paljiipedes, Brachypteres, Longipennes, Totipaimati, Lamellirostres, REPTILIA, Chelonia, Sauria, The Crocodiles, . The Li/ards, Paga 116 116 118 121 122 123 124 130 131 131 138 141 142 150 151 151 160 1G5 166 182 184 194 197 199 208 211 219 220 222 225 230 235 239 239 24? 247 249 255 257 260 260 262 VI TABLE OF CONTENTS. rapre The Iptanas, 2(;3 The Geckotians, 2r)5 TJie Chiimeleons, 2B6 The Scindoidiens, 2A. . . 313 I.OI'llODKANCllIt, 314 I'l.KtTOGXATHI, 315 Gymnodontcs, 315 Sclerodcnni, 316 ClIOXDItOITKIiYOII Buj VN-nriis I.mi'.nis, 318 ClIONKUulTKltYGII BlL VNciiiis Tixis. 319 Si'Iadiii, fcl9 Cyclostomata, 321 Profpfwors Apassiz and Mii Jler's Classifica- tidii of Fishes (Supple nient), . 323 Gasoiukans, 323 Pl.ACOIDKANS. .■:23 Ctksoiihan.s, 323 CVCI.OIKKANS, 323 lOLI.USCA, 3-.'7 J)ivision into Cin'<-a, 681 HOJIOGENEA, 695 LIST OF PLATES. PORTRAIT OF CVYlEK—Vii/neCte. Plate l.—Gl^KTYE, ..... II.— CAUCASIAN RACE, .... HI.— MONGOLIAN RACE, .... IV.— AMERICAN RACE, v.— NEGRO RACE, VI.— MONKEYS, . . . . . VII.— BABOONS, ..... VIII.— LEMURS, ..... IX.— BEARS, ..... X.— DOGS, ...... XI.— ICHNEUMONS, ..... XII.— CATS. ...... XIII.— BLACK LEOPARD, &c., . . XIV.— AMI'IIIBIOUS ANIMALS, . . . . XV.— HIPPOPOTAMUS, .... XVI.— RHINOCEROS, . . . . . XVII.— HORSE, . ' . XVIII.— CAMELS, . . . . . XIX.— DEER, ..... XX.— ANTELOPES, . . . . . XXL— GOATS, ..... XXII.— SHEEP, . . . . . XXIII.— BRAHMINY BULL, .... Frontispiece. Page 37 38 39 •10 , 45 47 51 71 78 81 . 83 84 86 118 . 119 ICl . 123 125 . 127 129 . ISO lol X LIST OF PLATES. P!ale ^"0' XXIV.— VULTURES, ......•• ^--^ XXV.— EAGLE, , ... . . . • • .155 XXVL-OWLS, . . . . . • .101 XXVII.— GREAT CINEREOUS 0"n'L, . . . . . . 1G2 XXVIII.— ORIOLES. ........ 176 XXIX.— nUMMl-NG BIRDS, . . . . . . .195 XXX.— HOOPOE, ...... . . 19G XXXI.— PARROTS, ........ 20G XXXIL— PARTRIDGES, ....... 217 XXXIIL— GREAT CROWNED PIGEON, . . . . ' . . 219 XXXIV.— OSTRICH, ........ 220 XXXV.— SWANS, ........ 219 XXXVI.— DUCKS, ........ 251 XXXVII.— REPTILES, . . . . . . . . 2G1 XXXVIII.— AGATE SHELLS, ....... 341 XXXIX.— CONES, . . . . . . . .054 XL.— DITTO, ........ 355 Xl.l.— BEETLES, . . . . . . . .491 XLII.— ORTIIOPTEROUS INSECTS, ...... 557 XLIU.— BUTTERFLIES, . . . . . . . .605 XLIV.— TROJAN BUTIERI'LY,. ...... COG THE AUTHOR'S PREFACES. PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. Having been devoted, from my earliest youth, to the study of comparative anatomy, that is to say of the laws of the organization of animals, and of the modifications which this organization undergoes in the various species, and having, for nearly thirty years past, consecrated to that science every moment of which my duties allowed me to dispose, the constant aim of my labours has been to reduce it to general rules, and to propositions that should contain their most simple expression. My first essays soon led me to perceive that I could only attain this object in proportion as the animals, whose structure I should have to elucidate, were arranged in conformity with that structure, so that under one single name, of class, order, genus, &c., might be embraced all those species which, in their internal as well as exterior conformation, present accordancies either more general or more particular. Now this is what the greater number of naturalists of that epoch had never sought to effect, and what but few of them could have achieved, even had they been willing to try ; since a parallel arrangement presup- poses a very extensive knowledge of the structures, of which it ought, in some measure, to be the representation. It is true that Daubenton and Camper had supplied facts, — that Pallas had indicated views ; but the ideas of these well-informed men had not yet exercised upon their contemporaries the influence which they merited. The only general catalogue of animals then in existence, and the only one we possess even now, — the system of Linnaeus, — had just been disfigured by an unfortunate editor, who did not so much as take the trouble to comprehend the principles of that ingenious classifier, and who, wherever he found any disorder, seems to have tried to render it more inextricable. It is also true that there were very extensive works upon particular classes, which had made known a vast number of new species ; but their authors barely con- sidered the external relations of those species, and no one had employed himself in CO- arranging the classes and orders according to their entire structure : the cha- racters of several classes remained false or incomplete, even in justly celebrated anatomical works ; some of the orders were arbitrary ; and in scarcely any of these divisions were the genera approximated conformably to nature. xii THE AUTHOR'S PREFACES. I was necessitated then, — and the task occupied considerable time, — I was com- pelled to make anatomy and zoology, dissection and classification, proceed beforehand ; to seek, in my first remarks on organization, for better principles of distribution ; to employ these, in order to arrive at new remarks ; and in their turn the latter, to carry the principles of distribution to perfection : in fine, to elicit from the mutual reaction of the two sciences upon each other, a system of zoology adapted to serve as an introduction and a guide in anatomical researches, and a body of anatomical doctrine fitted to develope and explain the zoological system. The first results of this double labour appeared in 1795, in a special memoir upon a new division of the white-blooded animals. A sketch of their application to genera, and to the division of these into sub-genera, formed the object of my Tableau £^ltmentaire des Animaux, printed in 1798, and I improved this work, with the assistance of M. Dumeril, in the tables annexed to the first volume of my Lecons d' Anatomie Compar^e, in 1800. I should, perhaps, have contented myself with perfecting these tables, and proceeded immediately to the publication of my great work on anatomy, if, in the course of my researches, I had not been frequently struck with another defect of the greater number of the general or partial systems of zoology ; I mean, the confusion in which the want of critical j)recision had left a vast number of species, and even many genera. Not only were the classes and orders not sufliciently conformed to the intrinsical nature of animals, to serve conveniently as the basis to a treatise on comparative anatomy, but the genera themselves, though ordinarily better constituted, offered but inadequate resources in their nomenclature, on account of the species not having been arranged under each of them, conformably to their characters. Thus, in placing the Manati in the genus Morse, the Siren in that of the Eels, Gmehn had rendered any general proposition relative to the organization of these genera impossible ; just as by ai)proximating in the same class and in the same order, and placing side by side, the Cuttle and the fresh-water Polypus, he had made it impossible to predicate anything generally of the class and order which comprised such incongruous beings. I select tlie above examples from among the most prominent ; but there existed an infinitude of such mistakes,, less obvious at the first glance, which occasioned incon- veniences not less real. It was not sufficient, then, to have imagined a new distribution of the classes and orders, and to have properly placed the genera ; it was also necessary to examine all the species, in order to be assured that they really belonged to the genera in which till y had been placed. I laving come to this, I found not only species grouped or dispersed contrary to all rea- son, but I remarked that many had not been established in a positive manner, either by the characters which had been assigned to them, or by their figures and descriptions. Here one of them, 1 ; means of synonymes, represents several under a single name, and often so diffcTeiic that they should not rank in the same genus : there a single one is doubled, tripled, and successively reappears in several sub-genera, genera, and sometimes dillVrcnt orders. What can be said, for example, of the Trichechus manatus of Gmelin. which, under a single sjiecific name, comprehends three species and two genera.— two genera differing in almost ever)-thing ? By what name shall we speak of the VelcUa. which figures PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. xiii twice among the Medusa and once among the Holothuria ? How are we to reassemble the Biphoree, of which some are there called Dagysa, the greater number Salpa, while several are ranged among the Holothurics ? It did not therefore suffice, in order completely to attain the object aimed at, to review the species : it was necessary to examine their synonymes ; or, in other words, to re-model the system of animals. Such an enterprize, from the prodigious developement of the science of late years, could not have been executed completely by any one individual, even granting him the longest life, and no other occupation. Had I been constrained to depend upon myself alone, I should not have been able to prepare even the simple sketch which I now give ; but the resources of ray position seemed to me to supply what I wanted both of time and talent. Living in the midst of so many able naturalists, drawing from their works as fast as they appeared, freely enjoying the use of the collections they had made, and having myself formed a very considerable one, ex- pressly appropriated to my object, a great part of my labour consisted merely in the employment of so many rich materials. It was not possible, for instance, that much remained for me to do on shells, studied by M. de Lamarck, nor on quadrupeds, described by M. GeofFroy. The numerous and new affinities described by M. de Lacepede, were so many data for my system of fishes. M. Levaillant, among so many beautiful birds collected from all parts, perceived details of organization which I immediately adapted to my plan. My own researches, employed and fructified by other naturalists, yielded results to me which, in my hands alone, they would not all have produced. So, also, M. de Blain\alle and M. Oppel, in examining the cabinet which I had formed of anatomical preparations on which I designed to found my divisions of reptiles, anti- cipated — and perhaps better than I should have done — results of which as yet I had but a glimpse, &c., &c. Encouraged by these reflections, I determined to precede my Treatise on Com- parative Anatomy by a kind of abridged system of animals, in which I should present their divisions and subdivisions of all degrees, established in a parallel manner upon their structure, both internal and external ; where I would give the indication of well- authenticated species that belonged, with certainty, to each of the subdivisions ; and where, to create more interest, I would enter into some details upon such of the species as, from their abundance in our country, the services which they render us, the damage which they occasion to us, the singularity of their manners and economy, their extraordinary forms, their beauty, or their magnitude, are the most remarkable. I hoped by so doing to prove useful to young naturalists, who, for the most part, have but little idea of the confusion and errors of criticism in which the most accredited works abound, and who, particularly in foreign countries, do not sufficiently attend to the study of the true relations of the conformation of beings : I considered myself as rendering a more direct service to those anatomists, who require to know beforehand to which orders they should direct their researches, when they wish to solve by com- parative anatomy some problem of human anatomy or physiology', but whose ordinary occupations do not sufficiently prepare them for fulfilling this condition, which is essen- tial to their success. Nevertheless, I have not professed to extend this twofold view equally to all classes of the animal kingdom ; and the vertebrated animals, as in every sense the most in- xiv THE AUTHOR'S PREFACES. teresting, claimed to have the preference. Among the Invertebrata, I have had more particularly to study the naked mollusks and the great zoophytes ; but the innumerable variations of the external forms of shells and corals, the microscopic animals, and the other families which perform a less obvious office in the economy of nature, or whose organization affords but little room for the exercise of the scalpel, did not require to be treated with the same detail. Independently of which, so far as the shells and corals are concerned, I could depend on a work just published by M. de Lamarck, in which will be found all that the most ardent desire for information can require. With respect to insects, so interesting by their external forms, their organization, habits, and by their influence on all living nature, I have had the good fortune to find as- sistance which, in rendering my work infinitely more perfect than it could have been had it emanated solely from my pen, has, at the same time, greatly accelerated its publica- tion. My colleague and friend, M. Latreille, who has studied these animals more profoundly than any other man in Europe, has kindly consented to give, in a single volume, and nearly in the order adopted for the other parts, a summary of his immense researches, and an abridged description of those innumerable genera which entomolo- gists are continually establishing. As for the rest, if in some instances I have given less extent to the exposition of 8ub-genera and species, this inequality has not occurred in aught that concerns the superior divisions and the indications of affinities, which I have every where founded on equally solid bases, established by equally assiduous researches. I have examined, one by one, all the species of which I could procure specimens ; I have approximated those which merely differed from each other in size, colour, or in the number of some less important parts, and have forme-d them into what I designate a sub-genus. Whenever it was possible, I have dissected at least one species of each sub-genus ; and if those be excepted to which the scalpel cannot be applied, there exists in my work but very few groups of this degree, of which I cannot produce seme considerable portion of the organs. After having determined the names of the species which I had examined, and which had previously been either well figured or well described, I jjlaced in the same sub- genera those which I had not seen, but whose exact figures, or descriptions, sufficiently precise to leave no doubt of their natural relations, I found in authors ; but I have passed over in silence that great number of vague indications, on which, in my opinion, naturalis'ts have been too eager to establish species, the adoption'of which has mainly contributed to introduce into the catalogue of beings, that confusion which deprives it of 80 much of its utility. I could have added, almost every where, a vast number of new species ; but as I could not refer to figures, it would have been incumbent on me to extend their descrip- tions beyond wliat space permitted : I have, therefore, preferred depriving my work of this ornament, and have only indicated those, the peculiar conformation of which gives rise to new sub-genera. ^ My sul)-gcncra once established on positive relations, and composed of well-authen- ticated species, it remained only to construct this great scaftolding of genera, tribes, families, orders, classes, and primary divisions, which constitute the entire animal kingdom. , PEEFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. xv III this I have proceeded, partly by ascending from the inferior to the superior divi- sions, by means of approximation and comparison ; and partly also by descending from the superior to the inferior groups, on the principle of the subordination of characters ; comparing carefully the results of the two methods, verifying one by the other, and always sedulously establishing the correspondence of external and internal structure, which, the one as well as the other, are integral parts of the essence of each animal. Such has been my procedure whenever it was necessary and possible to introduce new arrangements ; but I need not observe that, in very many places, the results to which it would have conducted me had already been so satisfactorily obtained, that I had only to follow the track of my predecessors. Notwithstanding which, even in those cases where no alteration was required, I have verified and confirmed, by new observations, what was previously acknowledged, and what I did not adopt until it had been subjected to a rigorous scrutiny. The public may form some idea of this mode of examination, from the memoirs on the anatomy of moUusks, which have appeared in the Annales du Museum, and of w'hich I am now preparing a separate and augmented collection. I venture to assure the reader that I have bestowed quite as extensive labour upon the vertebrated animals, the anne- lides, the zoophytes, and on many of the insects and crustaceans. I have not deemed it necessary to publish it with the same detail ; but all my preparations are exposed in the Cabinet of Comparative Anatomy in the Jardin du Roi, and will serve hereafter for my treatise on anatomy. Another very considerable labour, but the details of which cannot be so readily authenticated, is the critical examination of species. I have verified all the figures .alleged by difi'erent authors, and as often as possible referred each to its true species, previously to selecting those which I have indicated : it is entirely from this verifica- tion, and never from the classification of preceding sys,tematists, that I have referred to my sub-genera the species that belong to them. Such is the reason why no astonish- ment should be experienced on finding that such and such a genus of Gmehn is now divided, and distributed even in different classes and still higher divisions ; that nume- rous nominal species are reduced to a single one, and that popular names are very differently applied. There is not one of these changes which I am not prepared to justify, and of which the reader himself may not obtain the proof, by recurring to the sources which I have indicated. In order to lessen his trouble, I have been careful to select for each class a principal author, generally the richest in good original figures ; and I quoted secondary works only where the former are deficient, or where it was useful to estabhsh some com- parison, for the sake of confirming synonymes. My subject could have been made to fill many volumes ; but I considered it my duty to condense it, by imagining abridged means of expression. These I have obtained by graduated generalities. By never repeating for a species that which might be said of an entire sub-genus, nor for a genus what might be applied to a whole order, and so on, we arrive at the greatest economy of words. To this my endeavours have been, above all, particularly directed, inasmuch as it was the principal end of my work. It may be remarked, however, that I have not employed many technical terms, and that I have endeavoured to communicate my ideas without that barbarous anay of fictitious words, which, in the works of so many of our natural historians are XVI THE AUTHOR'S PREFACES. so very repulsive. I cannot perceive, however, that I have thereby lost any thing in precision or clearness. I have been compelled, unfortunately, to introduce many new names, although I have endeavoured, as far as possible, to preserve those of my predecessors ; but the numerous sub-genera I have established required these denominations ; for in things so various, the memory is not satisfied with numerical indications. I have selected them, so as either to convey some character, or among the common names which I have latinized, or lastly, after the example of Linnaeus, from among those of mytho- logy, which are generally agreeable to the ear, and which we are far from having exhausted. In naming species, however, I would nevertheless recommend employing the sub- stantive of the genus, and the trivial name only. The names of the sub-genera are designed merely as a relief to the memor}% when we would indicate these sub- divisions in particular. Otherwise, as the sub-genera, already very numerous, will in the end become greatly multiplied, in consequence of having substantives continually to retain, we shall be in danger of losing the advantages of that binary nomenclature so happily imagined by Linnaeus. It is the better to preserve it that I have dismembered as little as possible the great genera of that illustrious reformer of science. Whenever the sub-genera into which I divide them were not to be translated into different families, I have left them together under their former generic appellation. This was not only due to the memory of Linnaeus, but was necessaiy in order to preserve the mutual intelligence of the naturalists of diflferent countries. To facilitate still more the study of this work, — for it is to be studied more than to be . glanced over, — I have emploj'ed different- sized types in the printing of it, to correspond to the ditfijrtnt grades of generalization of the statements contained in it. * * * Thus the eye will distinguish beforehand the relative importance of each group, and the order of each successive idea ; and the printer will second the author with every con- trivance wliich his art supplies, that may conduce to assist the memory. The habit, necessarily acquired in the study of natural history, of mentally classify- ing a great number of ideas, is one of the advantages of this science, which is seldom spoken of, and which, when it shall have been generally introduced into the system of common education, will perhaps become the principal one : it exercises the student in that part of logic which is termed method, as the study of geometry does in that which ia called syllogism, because natural history is the science which requires the most precise methods, as geometry is that which demands the most rigorous reason- ing. Now this art of method, when once well acquired, may be applied with infinite advantage to studies the most foreign to natural history. Every discussion which sup- poses a classification of facts, every research which requires a distribution of matters is. performed after the same manner ; and he who had cultivated this science merely for amusement, is surprised at the facilities it atlbrds for disentan-linff all kinds of affairs. It is not less useful in solitude. Sufficiently extcnsve to satisfy the most powerful mind, sufficiently various and interesting to calui the most agitated soul, it consoles the unhap])y. and tends to allay enmity and hatred. Once elevated to the contem- plation of that harmony of Nature irresistibly regulated by Providence, how weak and PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. ' xvii trivial appear those causes which it has been pleased to leave dependent on the will of man ! How astonishing to behold so many fine minds, consuming themselves, so uselessly for their own happiness and that of others, in the pursuit of vain combina- tions, the very traces of which a few years suffice to obliterate ! I avow it proudly, these ideas have been always present to my mind, — the companions of my labours ; and if I have endeavoured by every means in my power to advance this peaceful study, it is because, in my opinion, it is more capable than any other of supplying that want of occupation, which has so largely contributed to the troubles of our age ; — but I must return to my subject. There yet remains the task of accounting for the principal changes I have effected in the latest received methods, and to acknowledge the amount of obligation to those naturalists, whose works have furnished or suggested a part of them. To anticipate a remark which will naturally occur to many, I must observe that I have neither pretended nor desired to class animals so as to form a single line, or as to mark their relative superiority. I even consider every attempt of this kind im- practicable. Thus, I do not mean that the mammalia or birds which come last, are the most imperfect of their class ; still less do I intend that the last of mammalia are more perfect than the first of birds, or the last of moUusks more perfect than the first of the annelides, or zoophytes ; even restricting the meaning of this vague word perfect to that of " most completely organized." I regard my divisions and subdivisions as the merely graduated expression of the resemblance of the beings which enter into each of them ; and although in some we obser\-e a sort of passage or gradation from one species into another, which cannot be denied, this disposition is far from being general. The pretended chain of beings, as applied to the whole creation, is but an erroneous application of those partial observations, which are only true when confined to the limits within which they were made ; and, in my opinion, it has proved more detrimental to the progress of natural history in modern times, than is easy to imagrae. It is in conformity with these views, that I have established ray four principal divisions, which have already been made known in a separate memoir. I still think that it expresses the real relations of animals more exactly than the old arrangement of Vertebrata and Invertebrata, for the simple reason, that the former animals have a much greater mutual resemblance than the latter, and that it was necessary to mark this difference in the extent of their relations. M. Virey, in an article of the Nouveau Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle, had already discerned in part the basis of the division, and principally that which reposes on the nervous system. The particular approximation of oviparous Vertebrata, inter se, originated from the curious observations of M. Geoffroy on the composition of bony heads, and from those which I have added to them relative to the rest of the skeleton, and to the muscles In the class of Mammalia, I have brought back the Solipedes to the Pachyderniata, and have divided the latter into families on a new plan ; the Ruminantia I have jjlaced at the end of the quadrupeds; and the Manati near the Cetacea. The distribution of the Carnaria I have somewhat altered ; the Oustitis have been wholly separated from the Monkeys, and a sort of parallelism indicated between the Marsupiata and other digitated quadrupeds, the whole from my own anatomical researches. All that I hav- xviii THE AUTHOR'S PREFACES. given on the Quadnnnuna and the Bats is based on the recent and profound labours of my friend and colleague M. Geoffroy de St. Hilaire. The researches of my brother, M. Frederic Cuvier, on the teeth of the Carnaria and Rodentia, have proved highly useful to me in forming the sub-genera of these two orders. Notwithstanding the genera of the late IVI. Illiger are but the results of these same studies, and of those of some foreign naturalists, I have adopted his names whenever his genera corresponded ■with my sub-genera. M. de Lacepede has also discerned and indicated many excellent divisions of this degree, which I have been equally compelled to adopt ; but the cha- racters of all the degrees and all the indications of species have been taken from nature, either in the Cabinet of Anatomy or in the galleries of the Museum. ■> The same plan was pursued with respect t» the Birds. I have examined with the closest attention more than four thousand individuals in the Museum-; I arranged them according to my views in the public gallery more than five years ago, and all that is said of this class has be.en drawn from that source. Thus, any resemblance which my sub-divisions may bear to some recent descriptions, is on my part purely accidental.* Naturalists, I hope, will approve of the numerous sub-genera which I have deemed it necessary to make among the birds of prey, the Passerince, and the Shore-birds ; they appear to me to have completely elucidated genera hitherto involved in much confusion. I have marked, as exactly as I could, the accordance of these subdivisions with the genera of MM. de Lacepede, Meyer, Wolf, Temminck, iind Savigny, and have i-eferred to each of them all the species of which I could obtain a very positive knowledge. This laborious work will prove of value to those who may hereafter attempt a true history of birds. The splendid works on Ornithology published within a few years, and those chiefly of M. le .Vaillant, which are filled with so many interesting observations, together with M. Vieillot's, have been of much assistance to me in designating the species which they represent. The general division of this class remains as 1 published it in 179S, in my Tableau fU('mentaire.-\ I have thought jiroper to preser\'e for the Reptiles, the general division of my friend M. Brongniart ; but I have prosecuted very extensive anatomical investigations to arrive at the ulterior subdivisions. M. Oppel, as I have already stated, has partly taken advantage of these preparatory labours ; and whenever my genera finally agreed with his, I have noticed the fact. Ilie work of Daudin, indiflferent as it is, has been useful to me for indications of details ; but the particular divisions which I have given in the genera of Monitors and Geckos, are the product of my own observations on a great number of Reptiles recently brought to the Museum by MM. Pcron and Geoflfroy. My lal)ours on the Fishes will probably be found to exceed those which I have bestowed on the other vcrtebrated animals. Our Museum having received a vast nimiber of Fishes since the celebrated work of M. de Lacepede was published, I have been enabled to add many subdivisions to those of that learned naturalist, also to combine ecvcnd species difllrcntly, and to multiply anatomical observations. I have also had • TWi ob.rrvdlon nol havlnx brrn luflirirntlr "n»( it hcrr. kiiil <.|iriil)r to diilnrc il Ucl nllncijccl b. Ih..u..n.l. In l-.n. ; Il l> IhU. ih.l nil Ibi- l.lrda In llie ^iillir)- of thr Mu,/• and Paurrrl. I had printed it in 17;)S, together with my other arniiiBe- ments, lo as to render them public in the Museum since 1811 mil 1813 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. xix better means of verilying the species of Commerson, and of some of other truvellers ; and, upon this point, I am much indebted to a review of the drawings of Commerson, and of the dried fishes which he brought with him, by M. Dumeril, but which have only been very lately recovered ; — resources to which I have added those presented to me in the fishes brought by Peron from the Indian Ocean and Archipelago, those which I obtained in the Mediterranean, and the collections made on the coast of Coromandel by the late M. Sonnerat, at the Mauritius by M. Matthieu, in the Nile and Red Sea, by M. GeofFroy, &c. I was thus enabled to verify most of the species of Bloch, Russell, and others, and to prepare the skeletons and viscera of nearly all the sub-genera ; so that this part of the work will, I presume, offer much that is new to Icthyologists. As to my division of thiif ci.ass, I confess its inconvenience, but I believe it, never- theless, to be more natural than any preceding one. In publishing it some time ago, I only offered it for what it is worth ; and if any one should discover a better principle of division, and as conformable to the organization, I shall hasten to adopt it. It is admitted that all the works on the general division of the invertebrated animals, are mere modifications of what I proposed in 1795, in the first of my memoirs ; and the time and care which I have devoted to the anatomy of moUusks in general, and principally to the naked moUusks, are well known. The determining of this class, as well as of its divisions and subdivisions, rests upon my own obseiTations ; the magni- ficent work of M. Poii had alone anticipated me by descriptions and anatomical researches useful for my design, but confined to bivalves and multivalves only. I have verified all the facts furnished by that able anatomist, and I believe that I have more justly marked the functions of some organs. I have also endeavoured to determine the animals to which belong the principal forms of shells, and to arrange the latter from that consideration ; but with regard to the ulterior divisions of those shells of which the animals resemble each other, I have examined them only so far as to enable me to describe briefly those admitted by MM. de Lamarck and de Montfort ; even the small number of genera and sub-genera which are properly mine, are principally derived from observa- tions on the animals. In citing examples, I have confined myself to a certain number of the species of Martini, Chemnitz, Lister, and Soldani ; and that only because, the volume in which M. Lamarck treats of this portion not having yet appeared, I was compelled to fix the attention of my readers on specific objects. But in the choice and determin- ing of these species, I lay no claim to the same critical accuracy which I have employed for the vcrtebrated animals , nd naked moUusks. The excellent observations of MM. Savigny, Lesueur, and Desmarest, on the com- pound Ascidians, approximate this latter family of mollusks to certain orders of zoophytes : this is a curious relation, and a further proof of the impracticability (if arranging animals in a single line. I believe that I have extricated the Annelides, — the establishing of which, although not their name, belongs virtually to me, — from the confusion in which they had hitherto been involved, among the Mollusks, the Testacea, and the Zoophytes, and have placed them in their natural order ; even their genera have received some elucidation only by my observations, published in the Dictionnaire des Sciences Naturelles, and else- where. Of the three classes contained in the third volume, I have nothing to remark. XX THE AUTHOR'S PREFACES. M. Latreille, who, with the exception of some anatomical details, founded on my own observations and those of M. Ramdohr, which I have inserted in his text, is its sole author, will take upon himself to explain all that is necessary. As to the Zoophytes, which terminate the Animal Kingdom, I have availed myself, for the Echinoderms, of the recent work of M. de Lamarck ; and for the Intestinal Worms, of that of M. Rudolphi, intitled Entozoa ; but I have anatomized all the genera, some of which have been determined by me only. There is an excellent work by M. Tiedemann, on the anatomy of the Echinoderms, which received the prize of the Institute some years ago, and will shortly appear ; it will leave nothing to be desired respecting these curious animals. The Corals and the Infusoria, offering no field for anatomical investigations*, will be briefly disposed of. The new work of M. de Lamarck will supply my deficiencies. f With respect to authors, I can only here mention those who have furnished me with general views, or who were the origin of such in my own mind. J There are many others to whom I am indebted for particular facts, and whose names I have carefully quoted wherever I have made use of them. They will be found on every page of my book. Should I have omitted to do justice to any, it must be attributed to involuntary forgetfulness, and I ask pardon beforehand : there is no proj)erty, in my ojjinion, more sacred than the conceptions of the mind ; and the custom, too pre- valent among naturalists, of masking plagiarisms by a change of names, has always aj)peared to me a crime. The publication of my Comparative Anatomy will now occupy me every moment : the materials are ready ; a vast quantity of preparations and drawings are arranged ; and I shall be careful in dividing the work into parts, each of which will form a v.'hole, so that, should my physical jiowers prove insufficient for the completion of mv design what I have produced will still form entire suites, and the materials 1 have collected be in immediate readiness fur those who may undertake the continuation of my labours. Jardin du Roi, October, 1816. niEFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. TuK preceding preface explains faithfully the condition in which I found the history of animals when the first edition of this work was published. During the twelve years that have since elapsed, this science has made immense progress, not only from the acquisitions of numerous travellers, as well-instructed as courageous, who have explored ever)' region of the globe, but by the rich collections which various govcnnnents have formed and rendered public, and by the learned and • Thf tarpHillif rctrarrhc< of M. KLrcnlicru, now puUlilllinn from Unir 111 linir, Iriuuiphanlljr rffult Ibis mllrt:alloti.— Kd. t I have Jml rrcrlirrd l/llul.,,rr Jr, futypim arrrrltigrnrt ftrjihtn •I M. l.uuuiiruHS, «bkh furiiiilics an clrcllcnl >u|>|ilciii<:iil lu M. He I.ninnrck. t M.ilv IMaiiivillc lias rCiTluly pulitKhcH ^ctitTnl zoolnf^k'Hl trihles, whiili 1 rt^rcl camt loo latr for iiic lu |iru6t \iy, Imving ii|ii>carei wlicli my bogk was iifMrly prii.tcd. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. XXI splendid works, wherein new species are described and figured, and of which the authors have striven to detect their mutual relations, and to consider them in every point of view.* I have endeavoured to avail myself of these discoveries, as far as my plan permitted, by first studying the innumerable specimens received at the Cabinet du Roi, and com- paring them with those which served as the. basis of my first edition, in order thence to deduce new approximations or subdivisions ; and then, by searching in all the books I could procure for the genera or sub -genera established by naturalists, and the descriptions of species by which they have supported these numerous com- binations. The determination of synonymes has become much easier now than at the period of my first edition. Both French and foreign naturalists appear to have recognized the necessity of establishing divisions in the vast genera in which such incongruous species were formerly heaped together ; their groups are now precise and well-defined ; their descriptions sufficiently detailed ; their figures scrupulously exact to the most minute characters, and often of the greatest beauty as works of art. Scarcely any difficulty remains, therefore, in identifying their species, and nothing hinders them from coming to an understanding with respect to the nomenclature. This, unfortunately, has been the most neglected; the names of the same genera, and the same species, are multiplied as often as they are mentioned ; and should this discord continue, the same chaos will be produced that previously existed, though arising from another cause. I have used every effort to compare and approximate these redundancies, and, forget- ting even my own trifling interest as an author, have often indicated names which seemed to have been imagined only to escape the avowal of having borrowed my divisions. But thoroughly to execute this undertaking, — this pinax or rectified epitome of the animal kingdom, which becomes every day more necessary, — to discuss the proofs and fix the definitive nomenclature which should be adopted, by basing it on sufficient figures and descriptions, requires more space than I could dispose of, and a time imperatively claimed by other works. In the History of Fishes, which I have commenced pub- lishing, with the assistance of M. Valenciennes, I purpose to give an idea of what appears to me might be effected in aU parts of the science. Here, I only profess to offer an abridged summary — a simple sketch ; — well satisfied if I succeed in rendering this accurate in all its details. Various essays of a similar kind have been published on some of the classes, and I have carefully studied them with a view to perfect my own. The Mammalogie of M. Desmarest, that of M. Lesson, the Treatise on the Teeth of Quadrupeds, by ■ M. Frederic Cuvier, the English translation of my first edition, by Mr. Griffith, enriched by numerous additions, particularly by Hamilton Smith ; the new edition of the Manuel d' Ornithologie of M. Temminck, the Ornithological Fragments of M. Wagler, the History of Reptiles of the late Merrem, and the Dissertation on the same subject by M. Fitsinger, have principally been useful to me for the vertebrated animals. The Histoire des Animaux sans Verttbres of M. de Lamarck, the Malacologie of M. de BlainviUe, have also been of great service to me for the mollusks. To • 5ee niv discourse before the Institute on the ProgTfj rfe VhiUuire naturelle depuis .« puj mantune, published at the clos* of the £rft Toiuiiie of uiy Eloges. xxii THE AUTHOR'S PEEFACES. these I have added the new views and facts contained in the numerous and learnea writings of MM. Geoffroy St. Hilaire, father and son, Savigny, Temminck, Lichtenstein, Kuhl, Wilson, Horsfield, Vigors, Swainson, Gray, Ord, Say, Harlan, Charles Bonaparte, Lamouroux, Mitchell, Lesueur, and many other able and studious men, whose names wUl be carefully mentioned when I speak of the subjects on which they have treated. The line collections of engravings which have appeared within the last twelve years, have enabled me to indicate a greater number of species ; and I have amjily profited by this facility. I must particularly acknowledge what I owe on this score to the Histoire des Mammiferes of MM. Geoffroy St. Hilaire and Frederic Cuvier, the Planches coloriees of MM. Temminck and Laugier, the Galerie des Oiseaux of M. Vieillot, the new edition of the Birds of Germany, by MM. Nauman, the Birds of the United States of Messrs. Wilson, Ord, and Charles Bonaparte*, the great works of M. Spix, and of his Highness the Prince Maximilian de Wied, on the Animals of Brazil, and to those of M. de Ferussac on the Mollusks. The plates and zoological descriptions of the travels of MM. Freycinet and Duperrey, supplied in the first by MM. Quoy and Gaymard, in the second by MM. Lesson and Garnot, also present many new objects. The same must be said of the Animals of Java, by Dr. Hors- field. Though on a smaller scale, new figures of rare species are to be found in the Mi'moires du Museum, the Annales des Sciences Naturelles, and other French peri- odicals, in the Zoological Illustrations of Mr. Swainson, and in the Zoological Journal, published by able naturalists in London. The Journal of the Lyceum of New York, and of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, are not less valuable ; but in proportion as the taste for natural history becomes extended, and the more numerous the countries in which it is cultivated, the number of its acquisitions increases in geometrical progression, and it becomes more and more difficult to collect all the writings of naturalists, and to complete the table of their results. I rely, therefore, on the indulgence of those whose observations may have escaped me, or whose works I have not sufficiently consulted. My celebrated friend and colleague M. Latreille, having consented, as in the first edition, to take upon him.self the important and difficult part of the Crustaceans, Arachnides, and Insects, will himself exj)lain in an advertisement the plan he has followed, so that I need say nothing more on this subject. ****** Jardiii du Roi, October, 1828. •The wurk of M. Auilubon upon tlic Birds of Xurlli America, I inc till after the wli-ie of tliat part which trcatJ of liiil. »vas xlKh •uriai'.en •!! othcri iu m.igiiificciicc, \va» unkuown to | piiulci. INTRODUCTION AND GENERAL PLAN OF THE WORK. „ ^ OF NATURAL HISTORY, AND OF SYSTEMS GENERALLY. I i As few persons have a just idea of Natural History, it appears necessary to com- mence our work by carefully defining the proposed object of this science, and establish- ing rigorous limits between it and the contiguous sciences. The word Nature, in our language, and in most others, signifies — sometimes, the qualities which a being derives from birth, in opposition to those which it may owe to art ; at other times, the aggregate of beings which compose the universe ; and sometimes, again, the laws which govern these beings. It is particularly in this latter sense that it has become customary to jDersonify Nature, and to employ the name, respectfully, for that of its Author. Physics, or Natural Philosophy, treats of the nature of these three relations, and is either general or particular. General Physics examines, abstractedly, each of the properties of those m.oveable and extended beings which we call bodies. That depart- ment of them styled Dynamics, considers bodies in mass ; and, proceeding from a very small number of experiments, determines mathematically the laws of equilibrium, and those of motion and of its communication. It comprehends in its different divisions the names of Statics, Mechanics, Hydrostatics, Hydrodynamics, Pneumatics, &c., ac- cording to the nature of the bodies of which it examines the motions. Optics considers ■the particular motions of light ; the phenomena of which, requiring experiments for their determination, are becoming more numerous. Chemistry, another branch of General Physics, expounds the laws by which the elementary molecules of bodies act on each other when in close jjroximity, the com- binations or separations which result from the general tendency of these molecules to unite, and the modifications which different circumstances, capable of separating or approximating them, produce on that tendency. It is a science almost wholly ex- perimental, and which cannot be reduced to calculation. The theory of Heat, and that of Electricity, belong almost equally to Dynamics or Chemistry, according to the point of view in which they are considered. The method which prevails in all the branches of General Physics consists in isolating bodies, reducing them to their utmost simplicity, in bringing each of their properties separately into action, either mentally or by experiment, in observing or calculating the results, in short, in generahzing and correcting the laws of the-se, pro- A INTRODUCTION. pertics for the 2)urpose of establishing a body of doctrine, and, if possible, of referring the whole to one single law, under the universal expression of which all might be resolved. Particular Phi/sics, or Natural History, — for these terms are synonymous — has for its object to apply specially the laws recognized by the various branches of General Physics, to the numerous and varied beings which exist in nature, in order to explain the phenomena which they severally present. In this extended sense, it would also include Astronomy ; but that science, sufH- ciently elucidated by Mechanics, and completely subjected to its laws, employs methods too different from those required by ordinary Natural History, to permit of its cultiva- tion by the students of the latter. Natural History, then, is confined to objects which do not allow of rigorous calculation, or of precise measurement in all their parts. Meteorology , also, is subtracted from it, to be ranged under General Physics ; so that, properly speaking, it considers only inanimate bodies, called minerals, and the various kinds of living beings, in all which we may observe the effects, more or less various, of the laws of motion and chemical attraction, and of all the other causes analyzed by General Physics. Natural History should, in strictness, employ the same modes of procedure as the general sciences ; and it does so, in fact, whenever the objects of its study are so little complex as to permit of it. But this is very seldom the case. An essential difference, in effect, between the general sciences and Natural History is, that, in the former, phenomena are examined, the conditions of which are all regulated by the examiner, in order, by their analysis, to arrive at general laws ; while in the latter, they occur under circumstances beyond the control of him who studies them for the purpose of discovering, amid the complication, the effects of general laws already known. It is not permitted for him, as in the case of the experimenter, to subtract successively from each condition, and so reduce the problem to its elements ; but he must take it entire, with all its conditions at once, and can analyze only in thought. Suppose, for example, we attempt to isolate the numerous pheno- mena which compose the life of an animal a little elevated in the scale ; a single one being suppressed, the life is wholly annihilated. Dynamics have thus become a science almost purely of calculation ; Chemistry is still a science wholly [chiefly*] of experiment ; and Natural History will long remain, in a great number of its branches, one of pure observation. These three terms sufficiently designate the modes of procedure employed in the three branches of the Natural Sciences ; but in establishing between them very different degrees of certitude, they at the same time indicate the point to which the two latter Bhould tend, in order to approach perfection. Calculation, so to speak, commands Nature ; it determines phenomena more exactly than observation can make them known : experiment forces her to unveil ; while obser- vation watches her when deviating from her normal course, and seeks to surprise her. Natural History has, moreover, a principle on which to reason, which is peculiar to it, and which it employs advantageously on many occasions ; it is that of the conditionsi of existence, commonly termed final causes. As nothing .can exist without the concur- rence of those conditions which render its existence possible, the component parts of each » The dUcovcij of the Unmlc Iheorjr Uu reduced many of Iti pheiiameiia to ralculntion.— Ed. OF SYSTEMS GENERALLY. must be so arranged as to render possible the whole living being, not only with regard to itself, but to its surrounding relations ; and the analysis of these conditions fre- quently conducts to general laws, as demonstrable as those which are derived from calculation or experiment. It is only when all the laws of general physics, and those which result from the condi- tions of existence, are exhausted, that we are reduced to the simple laws of obsen'ation. The most effectual mode of observing is by comparison. This consists in suc- cessively studying the same bodies in the different positions in which Nature places them, or in a comparison of different bodies together, until constant relations are recognized between their structures and the phenomena which they manifest. These various bodies are kinds of experiments ready prepared by Nature, who adds to or subtracts from each of them different parts, just as we might wish to do in our laboratories, and shows us herself the results of such additions or retrenchments. It is thus that we succeed in establishing certain laws, which govern these relations, and which are employed like those that have been determined by the general sciences. The incorporation of these laws of observation with the general laws, either directly or by the principle of the conditions of existence, would complete the system of the natural sciences, in rendering sensible in all its parts the mutual influence of every being. This it is to which the efforts of those who cultivate these sciences should tend. All researches of this kind, however, presuppose means of distinguishing with certainty, and causing others to distinguish, the objects investigated ; otherwise we should be incessantly liable to confound the innumerable beings which Nature presents. Natural History, then, should be based on what is called a System of Nature, or a great catalogue, in which all beings bear acknowledged names, may be recognized by distinctive cha- racters, and distributed in divisions and subdivisions themselves named and characterized, in which they may be found. In order that each being may always be recognized in this catalogue, it should carry its character along with it : for which reason the characters should not be taken from properties, or from habits the exercise of which is transient, but should be drawn from the conformation. There is scarcely any being which has a simple character, or can be recognized by an isolated feature of its conformation : the combination of many such traits is almost always necessary to distinguish a being from the neighbouring ones, which have some but not all of them, or have them combined with others of which the first is destitute ; and the more numerous the beings to be discriminated, the more must these traits accumulate : insomuch that, to distinguish from all others an individual being, a complete description of it must enter into its character. It is to avoid this inconvenience that divisions and subdivisions have been invented. A certain number of neighbouring beings only are compared together, and their par- ticular characters need only to express their differences, which, by the supposition itself, are the less important parts of their conformation. Such a reunion is termed a genus. The same inconvenience would recur in distinguishing genera from each other, were it not that the operation is repeated in collecting the neighbouring genera, so as to form an order ; the neighbouring orders to form a class, &c. Intermediate subdivisions may also be established. This scaffolding of divisions, the superior of which contain the inferior, is what is INTRODUCTIOX. called a method. It is, in some respects, a sort of dictionary, in which we proceed from the properties of things to discover their names ; being the reverse of ordinary dic- tionaries, in which we proceed from the names to obtain a knowledge of the properties. When the method, however, is good, it does more than teach us names. If the sub- divisions have not been established arbitrarily, but are based on the true fundamental relations, — on the essential resemblances of beings, the method is the surest means of reducing the properties of these l)eings to general rules, of expressing them in the fewest words, and of stamping them on the memory. To render it such, an assiduous comparison of beings is employed, directed by the principle of the subordination of characters, which is itself derived from that of the conditions of existence. AU the parts of a being having a mutual correlativeness, some traits of conformation exclude others ; while some, on the contrary, necessitate others : when, therefore, we perceive such or such traits in a being, we can calculate before- hand those which co-exist in it, or those that are incompatible -with them. The parts, properties, or the traits of conformation, which have the greatest number of these relations of incompatibility or of co-existence with others, or, in other words, that exercise the most marked influence upon the whole of the being, are what are called important characters, dominant characters ; the others are the subordinate character's, all varying, however, in degree. This influence of characters is sometimes determined rationally, by considering the nature of the organ : when this is impracticable, recourse must be had to simple obserA'ation ; and a sure means of recognizing the important characters, which is derived from their own nature, is, that they are more constant ; and that in a long series of different beings, approximated according to their degrees of similitude, these characters are the last to vary. From their influence and from their constancy result equally the rule, which should be preferred for distinguishing grand divisions, and in proportion as we descend to the inferior subdivisions, we can also descend to subordinate and variable characters. There can only be one perfect method, which is the natural method. An arrangement is thus named in which beings of the same genus are placed nearer to each other than to those of all other genera ; the genera of the same order nearer than to those of other orders, and so in succession. This method is the ideal to which Natural Histoiy should tend ; for it is evident that, if we can attain it, we shall have the exact and complete expression of all nature. In fact, each being is determined by its resem- blance to others, and its differences from them ; and all these relations would be fully given by the arrangement which we have indicated. In a word, the natural method would be the whole science, and each step towards it tends to advance the science to perfection. Life being the most important of all the properties of beings, and the highest of all character?, it is not surprising that it has been made in all ages the most general prin- ciple of distinction ; and that natural beings have always been separated into two immense divisions, the living and the inanimate. OP LIVING BEIXGS, AND OF ORGANIZATION IN GENERAL. If. m order to obtain a just idea of the essence of life, we consider it in those bein-xS in which its effects are the most simple, we readily perceive that it consists in the OF LIVIXa BEE^GS. faculty which certain coi-poreal combinations have, of enduring for a time, and under a determinate form, by incessantly attracting into their composition a part cf sur- rounding substances, and rendering to the elements portions of their own proper substance. Life, then, is a vortex (totirbillon), more or less rapid, more or less complicated, the direction of which is constant, and which always carries along molecules of the same kind, but into which individual molecules are continually entering, and from which they are constantly departing ; so that the form of a living body is more essential to it than its matter. As long as this movement subsists, the body in which it takes place is living — it lives. "When it is permanently arrested, the body dies. After death, the elements which compose it, abandoned to the ordinary chemical affinities, are not slow to separate, from which, more or less quickly, results the dissolution of the body that had been li^-ing. It was then by the vital motion that its dissolution was arrested, and that the elements of the body were temporarily combined. All living bodies die after a time, the extreme limit of w^hich is determined for each species ; and death appears to be a necessary consequence of life, which, by its own action, insensibly alters the structure of the body wherein its functions are exercised, so as to render its continuance impossible. In fact, the li-sdng body undergoes gradual but constant changes during the whole term of its existence. It increases first in dimensions, according to the proportions and within the limits fixed for each species, and for each of its several parts ; then it augments in density, in most of its parts : — it is this second kind of change that appears to be the cause of natural death. On examining the various living bodies more closely, a common structure 13 discerned, which a little reflection soon causes us to adjudge as essential to a vortex, such as the vital motion. . SoUds, it is evident, are necessary to these bodies for the maintenance of their forms, and fluids for the conservation of motion in them. Their tissue, then, is com- posed of interlacement and network, or of fibres and solid laminae, which inclose the liquids in their interstices : it is in these liquids that the motion is most continutJ and most extended ; the extraneous substances penetrate the intimate tissue of bodies in incorporating with them ; they nourish the solids by interposing their molecules, and also detach from them their superfluous molecules : it is in a liquid or gaseous form that the matters to be exhaled traverse the pores of the living body ; but, in return, it is the solids which contain these fluids, and by their contraction communicate to them a part of their motion. This mutual action of the solids and fluids, this passage of molecules from one to the other, necessitated considerable affinity in their chemical composition ; and, accord- ingly, the solids of organized bodies are in great part composed of elements easily convertible into liquids or gases. The motion of the fluids, requiring also a continually repeated action on the part of the solids, and communicating one to them, demanded of the latter both flexibility and dilatability ; and hence we find this character nearly general in all organized solids. This fundamental structure, common to all living bodies — this areolar tissue, the more 6 mTEODUCTION. or less flexible fibres or laminae of which intercept fluids more or less abundant — constitutes what is termed the organization ; and, as a consequence of what we have said, it follows that only organized bodies can enjoy life. Oro-anization, then, results from a great number of dispositions or arrangements, which are all conditions of life ; and it is easy to conceive that the general move- ment of the life would be arrested, if its effect be to alter either of these conditions, so as to arrest even one of the partial motions of which it is composed. EveiT organized body, besides the qualities common to its tissue, has one proper form, not only in general and externally, but also in the detail of the structure of each of its parts ; and it is upon this form, which determines the particular direction of each of the partial movements that take place in it, that depends the complication of the general movement of its life, which constitutes its species, and renders it what it is. Each part concurs in this general movement by a peculiar action, and experiences from it particular effects ; so that, in every being, the life is a whole, resulting from the mutual action and reaction of all its parts. Life, then, in general, presupposes organization in general, and the life proper to each being presupposes the organization peculiar to that being, just as the movement of a clock presupposes the clock ; and, accordingly, we behold life only in beings that are organized and formed to enjoy it ; and all the efforts of philo- sophers have not yet been able to discover matter in the act of organization, cither of itself or by any extrinsic cause. In fact, life exercising upon the elements which at every instant form part of the living body, and upon those which it attracts to it, an action contrary to that which would be produced v/ithout it by the usual chemical affinities, it is inconsistent to suppose that it can itself be produced by these affinities, and yet we know of no other power in nature ca2)able of reuniting previously separated molecules. The birth of organized beings is, therefore, the greatest mystery of the organic economy and of all nature : we see them developed, but never being formed ; nay, more, all those of which we can trace the origin, have at first been attached to a body of the same form as their own, but which was developed before them; — in one word, to o. parent. So long as the offspring has no independent life, but par- ticipates in that of its parent, it is called a germ. The place to which the germ is attached, and the occasional cause which detaches it, and gives it an independent life, vary ; but the primitive adherence to a similar being is a rule without exception. The separation of the germ is what is designated generation. All organized beings produce similar ones ; otherwise, death being a necessary con- sequence of life, their species would not endure. Organized beings have even the faculty of reproducing, in degrees varying with the Bpccics, certain of their parts of which they may have been deprived. This has been named the power of reproduction. Tlic dcveloiiement of organized beings is more or less rapid, and more or less ex- tended, according as circumstances are differently favourable. Heat, the supply and quality of nourishment, with other causes, exert great influence ; and this influence may extend to the whole body in general, or to certain organs in particular :— hence the similitude of offspring to their parents can never be complete. DIVISION OF ORGANIZED BEINGS. Differences of this kind, between organized beings, are what are termed varieties. There is no proof that all the differences which now distinguish organized beings are such as may have been produced by circumstances. All that has been advanced upon this subject is hypothetical : experience seems to show, on the contrary, that, in the actual state of things, varieties are confined within rather narrow limits ; and, 8o far as we can retrace antiquity, we perceive that these limits were the same as at present. We are then obliged to admit of certain forms, which, since the origin of thiijgs, have been perpetuated without exceeding these limits ; and all the beings appertaining to one of these forms constitute what is termed a species. Varieties are accidental subdivisions of species. Generation being the only means of ascertaining the limits to wliich varieties may extend, species should be defined the reunion of individuals descended one from the other, or from common parents, or from such as resemble them as closely as they resemble each other ; but, although this definition is rigorous, it will be seen that its application to particular individuals may be very difficult when the necessary experi- ments have not been made.* To recapitulate, — absorption, assimilation, exhalation, developement, and generation, are the functions common to all living beings ; birth and death, the universal limits of their existence ; a porous, contractile tissue, containing within its laminse liquids or gases in motion, the general essence of their structure ; substances almost all susceptible of being converted into liquids or gases, and combinations capable of easy transformation into one another, the basis of their chemical composition. Fixed forms, and which are perpetuated by generation, distinguish their species, determine the complication of the secondary functions proper to each of them, and assign to them the office they have to fulfil in the grand scheme of the universe. These forms neither produce nor change themselves ; the life supposes their existence ; it can exist only in organizations already prepared ; and the most profound meditations, assisted by the most delicate observations, can penetrate no further than the mystery of the pre-existence of germs, DIVISION OF ORGANIZED BEINGS INTO ANIMALS AND VEGETABLES. Living or organized beings have been subdivided, from the earliest times, into ani- mate beings, or those possessing sense and motion, and inanimate beings, which enjoy • That insurmountable difficulties oppose the rifjid dclennination of species, and, consequently, render even the definition of the term impossible, except in i very vague and loose manner, will readily appear on consideration of some of the phenomena presented. The prevalent idea is, that a sppciet consists of the aggregate of individuals descended from one original parentage, which alone are supposed to be capable of producing offspring that are prolific inter te ; and that when individuals, not of the same pristine derivation, interbreed, the hybrids are necessarily mules, which are cither quite sterile, or at most can only propagate with individuals of unmised descent. But it so happens, that every possible grade of approxi- mation is manifested, from the most diverse races, to those which are utterly unnistinguishable ; while, eveu in the latter case, urgent ana- logics, notwithstanding, sometimes forcibly indicate a separatcness of origin ; as when a scries of analogous races inhabiting distant regions are compared together, some of which are obviously different, others doubtfully 80, and some apparently identical. And it remains to be sliown whether such intimately allied races as some of these, even if not descended from s common stock, (which of course cannot be ascertained), would not produce hybrids capable of transmitting and perpetuating the mingled breed. It is true that Cuvier guards against this contingency, in the wording of his definition ; and that most naturalists would concur in regarding such miscible races, how- ever dissimilar, as varieties merely of the same ; but a question arises, whether there be not different degrees of fertility in hybrids, corresponding to the amount of affiuity, or physiological accordancy^ subsisting betwixt the parent races ; it being only within a certain sphere of that aHinity that they can he produced at all : besides which, as hybrids are seldom exactly intermediate, and in some instances (particularly among multiparous races) have been known to resemble entirely one or the other parent, it may be presumed that this circum. stance would also materially atTect their capability of propagation. Experiments are needed to solve this important problem, though therp is every reason to suspect that the following proposition will evei/tv- ally gain the general assent of naturalists, viz., that while considerate dissirititarity does not of necessity imply spccijical diversity, the con^ verse equally holds, that absolute resemblance fails of itself to coji' stitute specifxcal identity. — Ed. 8 INTEODUCTION. neither the one nor the other of these faculties, but are reduced to the simple function of vegetating. Although many plants retract their leaves when touched, and the roots direct themselves constantly towards moisture, the leaves towards air and light, and though some parts of vegetables appear even to exhibit oscillations without any perceptible external cause, stiU these various movements bear too little resem- blance to those of animals to enable us to recognize in them any proofs of perception or of will. The spontaneity of the movements of animals required essential modifications, even in their simply vegetative organs. Their roots not penetrating the ground, it was necessary that they should be able to place within themselves provisions of food, and to carry its reservoir along with them. Hence is derived the first character of animals, or their alimentary cavity, from which their nutritive fluid penetrates all other parts through pores or vessels, which are a sort of internal roots. The organization of this cavity and of its appurtenances required varying, according to the nature of the aliment, and the operations which it had to undergo before it could furnish juices proper for absorption : whilst the atmosphere and the earth sujjply to vegetables only juices ready prepared, and w'hich can be absorbed immediately. The animal body, which abounds with functions more numerous and more varied than in the plant, required in consequence to have an organization much more com- plicated ; besides which, its parts not being capable of preserving a fixed relative posi- tion, there were no means by which the motion of their fluids could be produced by external causes, as it required to be independent of heat and of the atmosphere : from this originates the second character of animals, or their circulatory system, which is less essential than the digestive, since it was unnecessary in the more simple animals. The animal functions required organic systems, not needed by vegetables, as that of the muscles for voluntary motion, and that of the nerves for sensibility ; and these two systems, like the rest, acting only through the motions and transformations of the fluids, it was necessary that these should be more numerous in animals, and that the chemical composition of the animal body should be more complicated than that of tlie plant : and so it is, for an additional substance (azote) enters into it as an essential clement, while in plants it is a mere accidental junction with the three other general elements of organization, — oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon. This then is the third character of animals. The soil and the atmosphere supply to vegetables water for their nutrition, which is composed of oxygen and hydrogen, air, which contains oxygen and azote, and car- bonic acid, which is a combination of oxygen and carbon. To extract from these aliments their ])roj)er composition, it was necesary that they should retain the hydrogen and carbon, exhale the superfluous oxygen, and absorb little or no azote. Such, then, is the process of vegetable life, of which the essential function is the exhalation of oxygen, which is cff'ccted through the agency of light. Animals in addition derive nourishment, more or less immediately, from the vegetable itself, of which hydrogen and carbon form the principal constituents. To assimilate them to their own composition, they must get rid of the superfluous hydrogen, and especially of the superabundant carbon, and accumulate more azote ; this it is which is performed in respiration, by means of the oxygen of the atmosphere combining with the hydrogen and carbon of the blood, and being exhaled with them under the form of ORGANIC ELEMENTS OF THE AA^DIAL BODY. 9 water and carbonic acid. The azote, whatever part of their body it may penetrate, appears to remain there. The relations of vegetables and animals with the atmosphere are then inverse ; the former retain {df'^ont) water and [decompose] carbonic acid, while the latter reproduce them. Respiration is the function essential to the constitution of an animal body ; it is that which in a manner animalizes it; and we shall see that animals exercise their peculiar functions more completely, according as they enjoy greater powers of respira- tion. It is in this difference of relations that the fourth character of animals consists. OF THE FOKMS PECULIAU TO THE ORGANI-C ELEMENTS OF THE AXIMAL BODY, AND OF THE PRINCIPAL COMBINATIONS OF ITS CHEMICAL ELEMENTS. An areolar tissue and three chemical elements are essential to every living body, a fourth element being peculiar to that of animals ; but this tissue is composed of vari- ously formed meshes, and these elements are united in different combinations. There are three kinds of organic materials, or forms of tissue, — the cellular membrane , the muscular fibre, and the meihdlary matter; and to each form belongs a peculiar combination of chemical elements, together with a particular function. The cellular membrane is composed of an infinity of small laminae, fortuitously dis- posed, so as to form little cells that communicate wifli each other. It is a sort of sponge, which has the same form as the entire body, all other parts of which fill or traverse it. Its property is to contract indefinitely when the causes which sustain its extension cease to operate. It is this force that retains the body in a given form, and within determined limits. When condensed, this substance forms those more or less extended laminae which are called membranes ; the membranes, rolled into cylinders, compose those tubes, more or less ramified, which are termed vessels ; the filaments, named fibres, resolve them- selves into it ; and the bones are nothing but the same, indurated by the accumulation of earthy particles. The cellular substance consists of that combination [isinglass] which bears the name of gelatine, and the character of which is to dissolve in boiling water, and to assume the form, when cold, of a trembling jelly. The meclullarij matter has not j'et been reduced to its organic molecules : it ap- pears to the naked eye as a sort of soft bouillie [pultaceous mass], consisting of exces- sively small globules ; it is not susceptible of any apparent motion, but in it resides the admirable power of transmitting to the me the impressions of the external senses, and of conveying to the muscles the mandates of the will. The brain and the spinal chord are chiefly composed of it ; and the nerves, which are distributed to all the sentient organs, are, essentially, but ramifications of the same. The fleshy or muscular fibre is a peculiar sort of filament, the distinctive property of which, during life, is that of contracting when touched or struck, or when it experi- ences, through the medium of the nerves, the action of the will. The muscles, immediate organs of voluntary motion, are merely bundles of fleshy fibres. All the membranes, all the vessels which need to exercise any compression, are furnished with these fibres. They are always intimately connected with nervous threads ; but those which subserve the purely vegetative functions contract without 10 INTRODUCTION. the knowledge of the me, so that the wdll is indeed one means of causing the fibres to act, but which is neither general nor exclusive. The fleshy fibre has for its base a particular substance termed fihrine, which is insoluble in boiling water, and of wliicli the nature appears to be to take of itself this filamentous form. The nutritive fluid, or the blood, such as we find in the vessels of the circulation, not only resolves itself principally into the general elements of the animal body, — carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and azote, but it also contains fibrine and gelatine, all but disposed to contract, and to assume the forms of membranes or of filaments peculiar to them ; nought being ever acquired for their manifestation but a little repose. The blood pre- sents also another combination, which occurs in many animal solids and fluids, namely, albumen [or ivJiite of eggl, the characteristic property of which is to coagulate in boiling water. Besides these, the blood contains almost all the elements which may enter into the composition of the body of each animal, such as the lime and phosphorus, which hardens the bones of vertebrated animals, the iron, which colours the blood itself as well as various other parts, the fat or animal oil, which is deposited in the cellular substance to maintain it, &c. All the fluids and solids of the animal body are composed of chemical elements contained in the blood ; and it is only by possessing some ele- menrs more or less, or in different proportions, that each is severally distinguished ; whence it becomes apparent thUt their formation entirely depends on the subtraction of the whole or part of one or more elements of the blood, and, in some few cases, on the addition of some element from elsewhere. Tlie various operations, by which the blood supplies nourishment to the solid or liquid matter of all parts of the body, may take the general name of secretion. This term, liowevcr, is often exclusively appropriated to the production of liquids, while that of nutrition is applied more especially to the production and deposition of the matter necessary to the growth and conservation of the solids. Every solid organ, as well as fluid, has the composition most appropriate for the office which it has to perform, and it preserves it so long as health continues, because the blood renews it as fast as it becomes changed. The blood itself, by this continual contribution, is altered every moment ; but is restored by digestion, which renews its matter ; by respiration, which sets free the superfluous cai'bon and hydrogen ; and by perspiration and various other excretions, that relieve it from other superabundant principles. Tliese perpetual changes of chemical composition constitute part of the vital vortex, not less essential than the visible movements and those of translation : the object, in- deed, of these latter is simply to produce the former. OF TUE FORCES WHICH ACT IN THE ANIMAL BODY. Tlie muscular fibre is not only the organ of voluntaiy motion ; we have seen that it is also the most powerful of the means employed by nature to effect the move- ments of translation necessary to vegetative life. Tims the fibres of the intestines pro- duce the peristaltic motion, which causes the aliment to pass onward along this canal ; tlie filircs of the heart and arteries are the agents of the circulation, and, through it, of all the secretions, &c. FORCES WHICH ACT IN THE AKBIAL BODY. 11 The will causes the fibre to contract through the medium of the nerve ; and the involuntary fibres, such as those we have mentioned, are equally animated by the nerves which pervade them ; it is, therefore, probable, that these ner\'es arc the cause of their contraction. All contraction, and, generally speaking, all change of dimension in nature, is produced by a change of chemical composition, though it consists merely in the flowing or ebbing of an imponderable *, such as caloric ; it is thus also that the most violent of known movements are occasioned, as combustions, detonations, &c. Tliere is, then, great reason for supposing that it is by an imponderable fluid that the nerve acts upon the fibre ; and the more especially, as it is demonstrated that this action is not mechanical. The medullary matter of the whole nervous system is homogeneous, and m.ust exercise, wherever it is found, the functions appertaining to its nature ; all its ramifi- cations receive a great abundance of blood-vessels. All the animal fluids being derived from the blood by secretion, it cannot be doubted that the same holds with the nervous fluid, nor that the medullary matter secretes [or evolves] it. On the other hand, it is certain that the medullary matter is the sole conductor of the nervous fluid ; and that all the other organic elements serve as non-conductors, and arrest it, as glass arrests electricity. The external causes which are capable of producing sensations, or of occasioning contractions in the fibre, are all chemical agents, capable of eff'ecting decompositions, such as light, caloric, the salts, odorous vapours, percussion, compression, &c. It would seem, then, that these causes act upon the nervous fluid chemically, and by changing its composition : which appears the more likely, as their action becomes weakened by continuance, as if the nervous fluid needed to resume its primitive com- position in order to be altered anew. The external organs of sense may be compared to sieves, which allow nothing to pass through to the nerve except the species of agent which should afi'ect it in that particular place, but which often accumulates so as to increase the effect. The tongue has its spongy papillae, which imbibe saline solutions : the ear a gelatinous pulp, which is intensely agitated by sonorous vibrations ; the eye transparent lenses, which concentrate the rays of light, &c. It is probable that what are styled irritants, or the agents which occasion the con- tractions of the fibre, exert this action by producing on the fibre, by the nerve, the same effect which is produced by the will ; that is to say, by altering the nervous fluid in the manner necessary to change the dimensions of the fibre on which it has influence ; but the will has nothing to do in this action; the me is. often even without any knowledge of it. The muscles separated from the body are still susceptible of irrita- tion, so long as the portion of the nen'e distributed within them preserves its power of acting on them ; the will being evidently unconnected with this phenomenon. The nervous fluid is altered by muscular irritation, as well as by sensation and voluntary motion ; and the same necessity occurs for the re-establishment of its primi- tive composition. The movements of translation necessary to vegetative life are determined by irritants : • " Imponderable fluid" is the expression in the original.— Ed, 12 mTRODUCTION. the aliment irritates [or excites] the intestine, the blood irritates the heart, &c. These movements are all independent of the will, and in general (while health endures) take place without the cognizance of the me ; the nerves which produce them have even, in several parts, a different distribution from that of the nerves affected by sensations or subject to the will, and the object of the difference appears to be the securing of this independence.* The nervous functions, that is to say, sensitiveness and muscular irritability, are so much the stronger at every point, in proportion as the exciting cause is more abundant ; and as this agent, or the nervous fluid, is produced by secretion [or evolution], its abundance must be in proportion to the quantity of medullary or secretory matter, and the amount of blood received by the latter. In animals that have a circulation, the blood is propelled through the arteries which convey it to its destined parts, by means of their irritability and that of the heart. If these arteries be irritated, they act more vigorously, and propel a greater quantity of blood ; the nervous fluid becomes more abundant, and augments the local sensibility ; this, in its turn, increases the irritability of the arteries, so that this mutual action may be carried to a great extent. It is termed orgasm, and when it becomes painful and permanent, inflammation. The irritation may also originate in the nerve, when it experiences acute sensations. This mutual influence of the nerves and fibres, either in the intestinal system, or in the arterial system, is the real spring of vegetative life in animals. As each external sense is i^ermeable only by particular kinds of sensation, so each internal organ may be accessible only to such or such agent of irritation. Thus, mercury irritates the salivary glands, cantharides excite the bladder, &c. These agents are what are termed specifics. The ners'ous system being homogeneous and continuous, local sensations and irrita- tion debilitate the whole • and each function, carried too far, may enfeeble the others. Excess of aliment thus weakens the faculty of thought ; while prolonged meditation impairs the energy of digestion, &c. Excessive local irritation will enfeeble the whole body, as if all the powers of life were concentrated on a single point. A second irritation produced at another point may diminish, or divert as it is termed, the first; such is the effect of purgatives, blisters, &c. [denominated counter-irritation]. All rapid as the foregoing enunciation is, it is sufficient to establish the possibility of accounting for all the phenomena of physical life, by the simple admission of a fluid such as we have defined, from the properties which it manifests.f • In the »t>ovc kcnicnco, there «rc distinctly mentioned the three •orli of ncr^'ci, the icpariitc functions of which hiive been con- clunlvcljr dcmon.trntcd bjr Sir Charles Bell : viz., nerves of vulilinri, which transmit the mandates of the will ; of teuiatiou, which convey to the sentorlum the Impressions of tlic senses; nwX at lymputhy, or inviiluntarf movement, the reunion of the riimifuallons of which in a piciuauf knots, or ifanclions. Is intimated in the text, those of the second class being distinguished by a swelling or ganglion near their base. — Ed. t Tlie unceasing chemical changes con»e.nient upon vitality must Dccessarily develope electricity ; and that the nrriouijtnid is no other than the eleclric. may be considered as proved by the identity of their phenomena. Indeed, It has long been known that the transmission of voltaic electricity along the nerves of a recently dead animal, •uflices to produce the most violent muscular action ; but the regula- tion of that action, its eiclu>ivc direction to particular suites of aauclei, rccuirca the vital Impolic. " If the brtln," remarks Sir John Herschcl, " (for wliich wonderfully constituted org;an no other mode of action possessin;;^ the least pr.ibability ha.s ever been devised), be an electric pile, constantly in action, it may be conceived to dis- charge itself at regular intervals, when the tension of the electricity developed reacht-s a certain point, abjng the nerves which conununi- eatc with the heart, and thus to excite the pulsations of that organ. This idea is forcibly suggested by a view of that elegant nppar:itus, the dry pile of Dcluc, in which the successive accumulations of electricity arc carried off by a suspended ball, which is kept, by the discharges, in a state of regular pulsation for any Icngtli of time. We have witnessed the action of such a pile, maintained in tliis way for whole years, in the study of the above-named eminent philosopher. The same idea of the cause of the pulsation of the heart appears to have occurred to Dr. Arnott, and is mentioned in his useful and ex- cellent work on Pliysics, to which, however, we are not indebted for the suggestion, it having occurred to us independently many year* «go."— DijcoKrie on the Study of Natural Philosophy, p. aiS.—Vla. FUNCTIONS OF THE AJNDLUL BODY. 13 SUMMARY IDEA OF THE FUNCTIONS AND ORGANS OF THE BODIES OF ANIMALS, AND OF THEIR VARIOUS DEGREES OF COMPLICATION. After what we have stated respecting the organic elements of the body, its chemical principles, and the forces which act within it, it remains only to give a sum- mary idea in detail of the functions of which life is composed, and of their respective organs. The functions of the animal body are divided into two classes : — The animal functions, or those proper to animals, — that is to say, sensibility and voluntary motion. The vital, vegetative functions, or those common to animals and vegetables ; that is to say, nutrition and generation. Sensibility resides in the nervous system. The most general external sense is that of touch ; its seat is in the skin, a mem- brane enveloping the whole body, and traversed all over by nerves, of which the extreme filaments expand on the surface into papillae, and are protected by the epider- mis, and by other insensible teguments, such as hairs, scales, &c. Taste and smell are merely delicate states of the sense of touch, for which the skin of the tongue and nostrils is particularly organized ; the former by means of papillae more convex and spongy ; the latter, by its extreme delicacy and the multiplication of its ever humid surface. "VVe have already spoken of the eye and ear in general. The organ of gene- ration is endowed with a sixth sense, which is seated in its internal skin ; that of the stomach and intestines declares the state of those viscera by peculiar sensations. In fine, sensations more or less painful may originate in all parts of the body through accidents or diseases. Many animals have neither ears nor nostrils ; several are without eyes, and some are reduced to the single sense of touch, which is never absent. The action received by the external organs is continued through the ner\^e3 to the central masses of the nervous system, which, in the higher animals, consists of the brain and spinal chord. The more elevated the nature of the animal, the more volumi- nous is the brain, and the more the sensitive power is concentrated there ; in propor- tion as the animal is placed lower in the scale, the medullary masses are dispersed, and in the lowest genera of all, the nervous substance appears to merge altogether, and blend in the general matter of the body. That part of the body which contains the brain and the principal organs of sense, is called the head. When the animal has received a sensation, and which has induced in it an act of volition, it is by [particular] nerves also that this volition is transmitted to the muscles. The muscles are bundles of fleshy fibres, the contractions of which produce all the movements of the animal body. The extensions of the limbs, and all the lengthenings of parts, are the effect of muscular contractions, equally with flexions and abbreviations. The muscles of each animal are disposed in number and direction according to the movements which it has to execute ; and when these movements require to be eff'ected with some vigour, the muscles are inserted into hard parts, articulated one over another, and may be considered as so many levers. These parts are called bones ii* 14 INTRODUCTION. the vertebrated animals, where tlicy are internal, and formed of a gelatinous mass, penetrated with molecules of phosphate of lime. In moUusks, crustaceans, and insects, where they are external, and composed of a calcareous or corneous substance that exudes between the skin and epidermis, they are termed shells, crusts, and scales. The fleshy fibres are attached to the hard parts by means of other fibres of a gela- tinous nature, which seem to be a continuation of the former, constituting what are called tendons. The configuration of the articulating surfaces of the hard parts limits their move- ments, which are further restrained by cords or envelopes attached to the sides of the articulations, and which are termed ligaments. It is from the various dispositions of this bony and muscular apparatus, and from the form and proportions of the members which result therefrom, that animals are capable of executing those innumerable movements which enter into walking, leaping, flight, and swimming. The muscular fibres appropriated to digestion and circulation are independent of the will ; they receive nerves, however, but, as we have said, the chief of them exhibit subdivisions and enlargements which appear to have for their object the estrangement of the empire of the me. It is only in paroxysms of the passions and other powerful mental emotions, which break down these barriers, that the empire of the me becomes perceptible ; and even then its efl'ect is almost always to disorder these vegetative functions. It is also in a state of sickness only that these functions are accompanied by sensations. Digestion is ordinarily performed unconsciously. The aliment, divided by the jaws and teeth, or sucked up when liquids con- stitute the food, is swallowed by the muscular movements of the back part of the mouth and throat, and deposited in the first portion of the alimentary canal, usually expanded into one or more stomachs ; it there is penetrated with juices proper to dis- solve it. Conducted thence along the rest of the canal, it receives other juices destined to complete its preparation. The parietes of the canal have pores which extract from this alimentary mass its nutritious portion, and the useless residue is rejected as excrement. The canal in which this first act of nutrition is performed, is a continuation of the skin, and is composed of similar layers ; even the fibres which encircle it are analogous to those which adhere to the internal surface of the skin, called the fleshy pannicle. Throughout the whole interior of this canal there is a transudation, which has some connexion with the cutaneous perspiration, and which becomes more abundant when the latter is suppressed ; the skin even exercises an absorption very analogous to that of tlie intestines. It is only in the lowest animals that the excrements are rejected by the mouth, and in which the intestine has the form of a sac without issue. Among those even in which the intestinal canal has two orifices, there are many in which the nutritive juices, absorbed by the coats of the intestine, are immediately diff'used over the whole spongy substance of the body : this appears to be the caee with the whole class of insects. But, ascending from the arachnides and worms, the nutritive fluids circulate in a system of confined vessels, the ultimate ramifications of which alone dispense its molecules to the parts that are nourished by it ; those particular vessels which convey it are named FUNCTIONS OF THE ANIMAL BODY. 15 arteries, and those which bring it back to the centre of the circuhitlon are termed veins. The circulating vortex is sometimes simple, sometimes double, and even triple (includ- ing that of the vena porta) ; the rapidity of its movements is often aided by the contrac- tions of a certain fleshy apparatus denominated hearts, and which are placed at one or the other centres of circulation, and sometimes at both of them. In the red-blooded vertebrated animals, the nutritive fluid exudes white or transpa- rent from the intestines, and is then termed chyle ; it is poured by particular vessels, named lacteals, into the venous system, where it mingles with the blood. Vessels resembling these lacteals, and forming with them what is known as the lymphatic system, also convey to the venous blood the residue of the nutrition of the parts and the products of cutaneous absoi'ption. Before the blood is proper to nourish the several parts, it must experience from the ambient element, by respiration, the modification of which we have already spoken. In animals which have a circulation, a portion of the vessels is destined to carry the blood into organs, where they spread over an extensive surface, that the action of the ambient element might be increased. When this element [or medium] is the air, the surface is hollow, and is called lungs ; when water, it is salient, and termed gills.* Tliere are always motive organs disposed for propelling the ambient element into, or upon, the respiratory organ. In animals which have no circulation, the air is dlff'ased through every part of the body by elastic vessels, named tracheae ; or water acts upon them, either by pene- trating through vessels, or by simply bathing the surface of the skin. The blood which is respired is qualified for restoring the composition of aU the parts, and to effect what is properly called nutrition. It is a great marvel that, with this facility which it has of becoming decomposed at each point, it should leave precisely the species of molecule which is there necessary ; but it is this wonder which consti- tutes the whole vegetative life. For the nourishment of the solids, we see no other arrangement than a great subdivision of the extreme arterial ramifications ; but for the production of liquids, the apparatus is more complex and various. Sometimes the extremities of the vessels simply spread over large surfaces, whence the produced fluid exudes ; sometimes it oozes from the bottom of little cavities. Very often, before these arterial extremities change into veins, they give rise to particular vessels that convey this fluid, which appears to proceed from the exact point of union between the two kinds of vessels ; in this case, the blood-vessels and these latter termed especial, form, by their interlacement, the bodies called conglomerate or secretory glands. In animals that have no circulation, and partictilarly insects, the nutritive fluid bathes all the parts ; each of them draws from it the molecules necessary for its suste- nance : if it be necessary that some liquid be produced, the appropriate vessels float in the nutritive fluid, and imbibe from it, by means of their pores, the constituent elements of that liquid. It is thus that the blood incessantly supports all the parts, and repairs the altera- tions which are the continual and necessary consequence of their functions. The * It may be remarked here, that, in strictness of language, no animals respire water, hut the air which is suspended in wjitcr, and wliieh has been ascertained to contain more oxygen tlian that of the free atmosphere. The elements of water, it should be remembered, are chemically combined, while those of air are only mechanically mixed. To obtain oxygen from the one, therefore, decomposition is required ; from the other, no disunion. Tlie only distinction, then, in the respiration of animals is, that lome breathe the free air, and are sup- plied with lungs, and others that diflused in water, and have therc- fure gills : but even this dilTerence, however, is more apparent than real, as in all cases the respiratory surface requires to be moist or wet, in order to perform its function. Deprive water uf its air by boiling it, aud it cannot support life. — ^d. 16 INTRODUCTION. general ideas which we form respecting this process are tolerably clear, although we have no distinct or detailed notion of what passes at each point ; and for want of knowing the chemical composition of each part with sufficient precision, we cannot render an exact account of the transformations necessary to produce it. Besides the glands which separate from the blood those fluids which perform some office in the internal economy, there are some which detach others from it that are to be totally rejected, either simply as superfluities, such as the urine, which is produced by the kidneys, or for some use to the animal, as the ink of the cuttle, and the purple matter of various other mollusks, &c. With respect to generation, there is one process or phenomenon infinitely more difficult to conceive than that of the secretions ; it is the production of the germ. We have seen even that it may be regarded as little less than incomprehensible ; but, the existence of the germ once admitted, generation presents no particular difficulty : so long as it adheres to the parent, it is noui'ished as if it were one of its organs* ; and when it detaches itself, it has its own proper life, which is essentially similar to that of the adult. The germ, the embryo, the foetus, and the new-born animal, have in no instance, however, precisely the same form as the adult, and the diff'erence is sometimes so great, that their assimilation merits the name of metamorphosis. Thus, no one not previously aware of the fact, would suppose that the caterpillar is to become a butterfly. All living beings are more or less metamorphosed in the course of their growth, that is to say, they lose certain parts, and develope others. The antennae, wings, and all the parts of the butterfly were inclosed within the skin of the caterpillar ; this skin disappears along with the jaws, feet, and other organs that do not remain in the butterfly. The feet of the frog are inclosed by the skin of the tadpole : and the tad- pole, to become a frog, loses its tail, mouth, and gills. The infant likewise, at birth, ioses its placenta and envelope ; at a certain age its thymous gland almost disappears ; and it acquires by degrees its hair, teeth, and beard. The relative size of its organs alters, and its body increases proportionally more than its head, its head more than its internal ear, &c. ' The place where these germs are found, the assemblage of them, is named the ovary ; the canal through which, when detached, they are carried forward, the oviduct ; the cavity in which, in many species, they are obliged to remain for a longer or shorter period before birth, the matrij: or uterus ; the exterior orifice through which they pass into the world, the vulva. When there are sexes, the male sex fecundates ; the germs appearing in the female. The fecundating liquor is named semen j the glands which separate it from the blood, testicles ; and, when it is necessary that it should be intro- duced into the body of the female, the intromittent organ is called a penis. RAPID EXPOSITION OF THE INTELLECTUAL FUNCTIONS OF ANIMALS. Tlie impression of external objects on the me, the production of a sensation, of an image, is a mystery impenetrable to our intellect ; and materialism an hypothesis, so much the more conjectural, as philosophy can furnish no direct proof of the actual • Ccna« h»ve been dgtt ilcd iu ibe ovari» of a huniou foetaj.— Eo. INTELLECTUAL FLT^s'CTIOXS OF AXBIALS. existence of matter. But the naturalist should examine what appear to be the mate- ria] conditions of sensation ; he should trace the ulterior operations of the mind, ascer- tain to what point they reach in each being, and assure himself whether they are not subject to conditions of perfection, dependent on the organization of each species, or on the momentary state of each individual body. For the me to perceive, there must be an uninterrupted nervous communication between the external sense and the central masses of the medullary system. Hence it is only when a modification is experienced by these masses that the me perceives : there may also be real sensations, without the external organ being affected, and which originate either in the nervous passage, or in the central mass itself; such are dreams and visions, or certain accidental sensations. By central masses, we mean a part of the nen'ous system, which is more circum- scribed as the animal is more perfect. In man, it consists exclusively of a limited portion of the brain ; but in reptiles, it includes the brain and the whole of the medulla, and each of their parts taken separately ; so that the absence of the entire brain does not prevent sensation. In the inferior classes this extension is still greater. The perception acquired by the me, produces the image of the sensation ex- perienced. We trace to without the cause of that sensation, and thus acquire the idea of the object which produces it. By a necessary law of our intelligence, all the ideas of material objects are in time and space. The modifications experienced by the medullary masses leave impressions there, which are reproduced, and recall to mind images and ideas ; this is memory, a cor- poreal faculty that varies considerably, according to age and health. Ideas that are similar, or which have been acquired at the same time, recall each other ; this is the association of ideas. The order, extent, and promptitude of this asso- ciation constitute the perfection of memorJ^ Each object presents itself to the memory with all its qualities, or with all its accessory ideas. Intellect has the power of separating these accessory ideas of objects, and of com- bining those that are alike in several different objects under one general idea, the prototype of which nowhere really exists, nor presents itself in an isolated form ; this is abstraction. Every sensation being more or less agreeable or disagi-eeable, experience and re- peated essays show promptly what movements are required to procure the one and avoid the other ; and with respect to this, the intellect abstracts itself from general rules to direct the will. An agreeable sensation being liable to consequences that are not so, and vice versd, the subsequent sensations become associated with the idea of the primitive one, and modify the general rules abstracted by the intellect ; this is prudence. From the application of rules to general ideas, result certain formulae, which are afterwards adapted easily to particular cases ; this is called reasoning — ratiocination, A lively remembrance of primitive and associated sensations, and of the impressions of pleasure and pain that attach to them, constitutes imagination. One privileged being, Man, has the faculty of associating his general ideas with particular images more or less arbitrary, easily impressed upon the memoiy, and which serve to recall the general ideas which they represent. 7'hese associated images are 15 18 INTEODUCTION. what are called stgns ; their assemblage is a language. When the language is com- posed of images that relate to the sense of hearing or sound, it is termed speech. When its images relate to that of sight, they are called hieroglyphics. Writing is a suite of images that relate to the sense of sight, by which we represent elementary sounds ; and, in combining them, all the images relative to the sense of hearing of which speech is composed : it is, therefore, only a mediate representation of ideas. This faculty of representing general ideas by particular signs or images associated with them, enables us to retain distinctly in the memory, and to recall without con- fusion, an immense number, and furnishes to the reasoning faculty and the imagina- tion innumerable materials, and to individuals the means of communication, M'hich cause the whole species to participate in the experience of each individual ; so that no bounds seem to be placed to the acquisition of knowledge : this is the distinctive character of human intelligence.* The most perfect animals are infinitely below man in their intellectual faculties ; but it is, nevertheless, certain that their intelUgence performs operations of the same kind. They move in consequence of sensations received, are susceptible of durable affections, and acquire by experience a certain knowledge of things, by which they are governed in- dependently of actual pain and pleasure, and by the simple foresight of consequences. f When domesticated, they feel their subordination, know that the being who punishes them may refrain from doing so if he will, and when sensible of having done wrong, or behold him angry, they assume a suppliant air. In the society of man they become either corrupted or improved, and are susceptible of emulation and jealousy : they have among themselves a natural language, which, it is ti"ue, expresses only their momentary sensations ; but man teaches them to understand another, much more complicated, by which he makes known to them his will, and causes them to execute it. In short, we perceive in the higher animals a certain degree of reason, with all its consequences, good and bad, and which appears to be about the same as that of chil- dren before they have learned to speak. In proportion as we descend to the animals more removed from man, these faculties become enfeebled ; and, in the lowest classes, we find them reduced to signs, at times equivocal only, of sensibility, that is to say, to a few slight movements to escape from pain. Between these two extremes, the degrees arc endless. In a great number of animals, however, there exists a different faculty of intelli- gence, which is named instinct. This prompts them to certain actions necessary to the prcscrv^ution of the species, but often altogether foreign to the apparent wants of individuals ; frequently, also, very comiilicated, and which, to be ascribed to intelligence, would suppose a foresight and knowledge in the species that execute them infinitely Bupcrior to what can be admitted. These actions, the result of instinct, are not the ellcct of imitation, for the individuals that perform them have often never seen tlyem performed by others: they arc not proportioned to the ordinary intelligence, but become more singular, more wise, more disinterested, in proportion as the animals belong to less elevated classes, and are, in all the rest of their actions, more dull and • Llnn»u« defined the hnm»nbcln|Hol.c»"tclf.knowin|{«nim«li" , bilitij doubtful whclhtr any of Ihcm can nicnt:illv trace remote tehlrh >« > bold ..,un,|,tion, l.Ucn ciibcr w^r.-KI.. causes, amid the comiilicnlmn of phenomena. It is with man in llil tTh»tUl0l«/, IhcjabYluuiljrrcmiiktuincidcncMandjctiucnccsi least civilized state that thc.v shoiUd be compared.— Ed. METHOD IN THE ANIMAl KINGDOM. 19 stupid. They are so truly the property oi the species, that all its individuals perform them in the same way, without any improvement. Thus the working bees have always constructed veiy ingenious edifices, agreeably to the rules of the highest geometry, and destined to lodge and nourish a posterity not even their o-\vn. The wasps and the solitary bees also form very complicated nests, in which to deposit theii' eggs. From this egg issues a grub, which has never seen its parent, which is ignorant of the structure of the prison in which it is confined, but which, once metamorphosed, constructs another precisely similar. In order to have a clear idea of instinct, it is necessary to admit that these animals have innate and perpetual images or sensations in the sensorium, which induce them to act as ordinary and accidental sensations commonly do. It is a sort of dream or vision that ever haunts them, and may be considered, in all that relates to instinct, as a kind of somnambulism. Instinct has been granted to animals as a supplement for intelligence, to concur with it, and with force and fecundity, to the preservation, in a proper degree, of each species. There is no visible mark of instinct in the conformation of the animal ; but intelli- gence, so far as has been observed, is in constant proportion to the relative size of the brain, and particularly of its hemispheres.* OF METHOD, AS APPLIED TO THE ANIMAL KINGDOM:. After what we have said respecting methods in general, there remains to ascertain which are the most influential characters of animals, that should serve as the basis of their primary divisions. It is evident they should be those which are drawn from the animal functions ; that is to say, from the sensations and movements ; for not only do both these make the being an animal, but they estabhsh, in a manner, its degree of animality. Observation confirms this position, by showing that their degi'ees of developement and complication accord with those of the organs of the vegetative functions. The heart and the organs of the circulation form a kind of centre for the vege- tative functions, as the brain and trunk of thQ nervous system do for the animal • One of the most curious phenomena of iustinct is the transmission of instilled habits by generation, as in the instance of high-bred pointer and setter dogs, often requiring no training to Ct them for their particular modes of indicating game. Propensities arc similarly hereditary in the human species ; but innate knowledge, as a substi- tute for individually acquired experience, is peculiar to brutes, which, for the most part, are thrown upon their own resources, before tliey liave had time or opportunities to gain the necessary information to serve as a guide for the regulation of their conduct. All the higher aui- mals, except the human species, appear to recognize their natural foes intuitively, to know even where their hidden weapons lie, also where they (and likewise themselves) are most vulnerable, and they endea- vour to use their own peculiar weapons before these are developed. If incapable of resistance, they commonly have recourse to stratagem; thus a brood of newly-hatched partridges will instantly rower motion- less at sight of an object of distrust, the intent of which must be, that the close similarity of their colour to that of the surface should cause them to be overlooked. Predatory animals, again, which immolate victims capable of dangerous resistance, instinctively endeavour always to attack a vital part, so as to effect their purpose speedily, and with least hazard to themselves ; but those which prey on feeble and de f-nceless animals attack indiscriminately. Blany astonishing mani- festations of the instinctive faculty occur respecting the manner in which the food is obtained ; and in the ant and some rodent (quadrupeds, which store up grain, the embryo of every seed ig destroyed, to pre- vent germination. The seasonal migrative impulse which recurs in some animals is among the most incomprehensible of instinctive phenomena, as it is shown to be, in various cases, independent of food or temperature ; though the latter, in particular, exercises some influence on its de- velopement, as does also the state of the sexual organs in spring. The gitiding principle of migration is equally mysterious, — that which enables a bird of passage to return periodically to its former haunts, to the same locality (both in \riuter and summer), which it had pre- viouslv occupied ; and the young also to the place of their nativity. This principle is farther evinced in the return of pigeons, &c. to their accustomed place of abode from indefinite distances, and by a straighter and more direct route than that by which they had been removed. It appears, likewise, to be manifested in somnambulism, and, perhaps, in some other affections of the human body ; but the sexual and parental instincts arc those which are chiefly cognizable iu civilized man- kind. One curious fact connected with the migrative propensity is, that the same species is sometimes permanently resident in one locality, and migratory in another. Thus the robin, which is stationary in Britain, leaves Germany in the autumn; which would seem to indi- cate that the erratic habit may have originated (in this instance) from necessity, and in course of time have become regular and transmis- sible, independently of external causes. Migratory animals, how- ever, may commonly be distinguished from others of the same genu8| by their superior structural powers of locomotion. — Ed, 20 INTRODUCTION. functions. Now, we see these two systems degrade and disappear together. In the lowest of animals, where the nerves cease to be visible, there are no longer distinct fibres, and the organs of digestion are simply excavated in the homogeneous mass of the body. In insects, the vascular system disappears even before the nervous one ; but, in general, the dispersion of the medullary masses accompanies that of the muscular agents : a spinal chord, on which the knots or ganglions represent so many brains, corresponds to a body divided into numerous rings, and supported by pairs of members distributed along its length, &c. This correspondence of general forms, which results from the arrangement of the organs of motion, the distribution of the nervous masses, and the energy of the circu- lating system, should serve then for the basis of the primary sections to be made in the animal kingdom. We will afterwards ascertain, in each of these sections, what characters should succeed immediately to these, and form the basis of the primai7 subdivisions. GENERAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM INTO FOUR GREAT DIVISIONS. If the animal kingdom be considered with reference to the principles which we have laid down, and, divesting ourselves of the prejudices founded on the divisions formerly admitted, we regard only the organization and nature of animals, and not their size, utility, the more or less knowledge which we have of them, nor any other accessory circumstances, it will be found that there exist four principal forms, four general plans, if it may be thus expressed, on which all animals appear to have been modelled, and the ulterior divisions of which, under whatever title naturalists may have designated them, are merely slight modifications, founded on the develope- ment or addition of certain parts, which produce no essential change in the plan itself. In the first of these forms, which is that of man, and of the animals which most resemble him, the brain and the principal trunk of the nei'vous system are inclosed in a bony envelope, which is formed by the cranium and the vertebrae : to the sides uf this medial column are attached the ribs, and the bones of the limbs, which compose the framework of the body : the muscles generally cover the bones, the motions of which they ])roduce, and the viscera are contained within the head and trunk. Animals of this form wc shall denominate VERTEBRATE ANIMALS {Atihnalia vcrtchruta). They have all red blood, a muscular heart, a mouth furnished with two jaws, l)laccd one cither before or above the other, distinct organs of sight, hearing, smell, and taste, situated in the cavities of the face ; never more than four limbs ; the SCXC9 always separated ; and a very similar distribution of the medullary masses, and of the princii)al branches of the nervous system. On examining each of the parts of this great series of animals more closely, there may always be detected some analog^', even in those species which are most remote from one another ; and the gradations of one single plan may be traced from man to the last of fisrhcs. In the second form there is no skeleton ; the muscles are attached only to the skin, DISTRIBUTION OF THE ANBIAL KINGDOM. 21 which constitutes a soft, contractile envelope, in wnich, in many species, are formed stony plates, called shells, the production and position of which are analogous to that of the mucous body ; the nervous system is contained within this general envelope, together with the viscera, and is composed of several scattered masses, connected by nervous filaments, and of which the principal, placed over the oesophagus, bears the name of brain. Of the four senses, the organs of those of taste and vision only can be distinguished ; the latter of which are even frequently wanting. A single family alone presents organs of hearing. There is always, however, a complete system of circulation, and particular organs for respiration. Those of digestion and of the secre- tions are little less complicated than in the vertebrated animals, "We will distinguish the animals of this second form by the appellation of Molluscous Animals (Anhnnlia mollusca). Although the general plan of their organization is not so uniform, as regards the external configuration of the parts, as that of the vertebrates, there is always an equal degree of resemblance between them in the essential structure and the functions. CD The third form is that observed in insects, worms, &c. Their nervous system con- sists of two long chords running longitudinally through the abdomen, dilated at inter- vals into knots or ganglions. The first of these knots, placed over the oesophagus, and called brain, is scarcely any larger than those which are along the abdomen, with which it communicates by filaments that encircle the oesophagus like a collar. The envelope of their trunk is divided by transverse folds into a certain number of rings, of which the teguments are sometimes hard, sometimes soft, but to the interior of which the muscles are always attached. The trunk often bears on its sides articulated limbs, but is frequently unfurnished with them. "We will bestow on these animals the term Articulate Animals (Atmnalia articulata) . It is among these that the passage is observed from the circulation in closed vessels, to nutrition by imbibition, and the corresponding transition from respiration in cir- cumscribed organs, to that effected by tracheae or air-vessels distributed through the body. The organs of taste and vision are the most distinct in them, a single family alone presenting that of hearing. Their jaws, when they have any, are always lateral. Lastly, the fourth form, which embraces all those animals known under the name of Zoophytes, may be designated Radiate Animals {Animalia radiata). In all the preceding, the organs of sense and motion are arranged symmetrically on the two sides of an axis. There is a posterior and an anterior dissimilar face. In this last division, they are disposed as rays round a centre ; and this is the case, even when they consist of but two series, for then the two faces are alike.* They approximate to the homogeneity of plants, having no very distinct nervous system, nor organs of particular senses : there can scarcely be perceived, in some of them, the vestiges of a * M. Agaasiz has expressed a diCTcreut opiuion. See Hadiala,—Ha, 22 INTEODUGTION. circulation ; their respiratory organs are almost always on the surface of the body ; the greater number have only a sac without issue, for the whole intestine ; and the lowest families present only a sort of homogeneous pulp, endowed with motion and sensibility.* [" The necessity," ■\mtes Mr. Ov/en, " for a dismemberment of the Radiata of Cuvier, which Rudolphi justly calls a chaotic groupfj has been felt, and directly or indirectly expressed, by most naturahsts and comparative anatomists.^ It is impossible, indeed, to predicate a com- munity of structm-e in either the locomotive, excretive, digestive, sensitive, or generative systems, mth respect to this division, as it now stands in the Re(/ne Animal. * * * " Taking the nervous system as a guide, the Radiata of Cuvier will be found to resolve them- selves into two natural groups, of which the second differs in the absence or obscure traces of nervous filaments from the higher division, in which these are always distinctly traceable, either radiating from an oral ring, or distributed in a parallel longitudinal direction, according to the form of the bod}'. "These different conditions of the nervous system are accompanied by corresponding modifications of the muscular, digestive, and vascular systems ; and a negative character, appli- cable to the higher division of Cuvier's Radiata, may be derived from the generative system."§ It is only in the lower-organized of these divisions, to which the term AcRiTE Animals (Animalia acrita) has been applied by Macleay, also that of Protozoa and Oozoa by Carus (from the circumstance of its members being analogous to the ova or germs of the higher classes), that the alimentaiy cavity and sanguiferous canals are destitute of proper parietes, being simple excavations or passages in the granular pulp of the body : for in the Nematoncura (a name applied to the higher division of Cuvier's Radiata by Owen), the digestive organ is provided with a proper muscular tunic, and floats in an abdominal cavity : and those classes which manifest a circulating system distinct from the diges- tive tube possess vessels with proper parietes, distinguishable into arteries and veins. No ncmatoneurous class presents an example of generation by spontaneous fision or gemmation, but these modes of reproduction are common in the acrite division. Some of the latter, however, arc oviparous ; and in a few the sexes are separate.] • Before mjr time, nioilcrn nsturAlists dlviilcd oil iiivcrtcbr;>tc(l nni- latli Into twoclnsio, the Insects nnd Worms. I was tlic first to iittack llil« method, nnd presented nnothor division, In a Memoir read before the Nnliiral llintorx Society of Paris, on the 10th of Blnv, 17'J5, iinrt printed In the JUcade I'hili.tophiijiir, in wliich I marked tlic characters and limlth of the Mollosks, Crustaceans, Insect", Worms, Kchinoderms, •nd Zo.i|ih) l.-i. I di«tint,'ui»hcd tlie red-blooded worms, or Annclidcs, loamcmnlr read hcf.ire the Inslitulc on the 31st of December, 18U1. these various classes under three prand divisions, each of which is comparable to that of the vertebrate animals. t Synopsis Etitozourtim, p. 5/2. t Lamarck obsenes : — "The .-//jnMt/ic Animals," (as he terms the yicrita,) *' have been very improperly called Zouptn/tes ; as their nature i.{ completely animal, and in no respect vefrctahlc. Tlie denomina- tion of Riiycd Aititnuls is also objectionable, as it applies only to a portion of thent. — Anim. satis t-'crt^brca^ i. p. 890. And finally, in a .Mcjnuir rend before the Institute in July, 1S12, and i § Lydopadia nf Atialomy and Vhysiahi-i/, \n. Merita ; from which printed \\i\Vi AnnaUs du Uui.d-Hist. Nut., iom. xix., I distributed | the succecdiug passages are also 8lridi;cd.—KD. FIRST GREAT DIVISION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. THE VERTEBRATE ANIMALS. The bodies and limbs of these being supported by a frame-work composed of connected pieces moveable upon each other, they have the more precision and vigour in their movements : the solidity of this support permits of their attaining considerable size, and it is among them that the largest animals are found. Their more concentrated nervous system, and the greater volume of its central portions, impart more energy and more stability to their sentiments, whence result superior intelligence and perfectibihty. Tlieir body always consists of a head, trunk, and members. The head is formed by the cranium, which incloses the brain, and by the face, which is composed of the two jaws and the receptacles of the organs of sense. Their trunk is supported by the spine of the back and the ribs. The spine is composed of vertebrae moveable upon each other, of which the first supports the head, and which have an annular perforation, forming together a canal, wherein is lodged that medullary production from which the nerves arise, and which is called the spinal marrow. The spine, most commonly, is continued into a tail, extending beyond the hinder Umbs. The ribs are semicircles, which protect the sides of the cavity of the trunk : they are articulated at one extremity to the vertebrae, and are ordinarily attached in front to the breast-bone ; but sometimes they only partly encircle the trunk, and there are genera in which they arc hardly visible. There are never more than two pairs of limbs ; but sometimes one or the other is wanting, or even both : their forms vary according to the movements which they have to execute. The anterior limbs may be organized as hands, feet, wings, or fins ; the posterior as feet, or instruments for swimming. Fig. 1. 24 VERTEBRATE AJN^DIALS. Div. 1. The blood is always red, and appears to have a composition proper for sustaining that energy of sentiment and vigour of muscles, but in different degrees, which correspond to the amount of respiration, from which originates the subdivision of the vertebrate animals into four classes. The external senses are always five in number, and reside in two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, the teguments of the tongue, and those of the body generally. Certain species, however, have the eyes obliterated. The nerves reach the medulla through perforations of the vertebrpe, or of the cra- nium : they aU seem to unite with this meduUa, which, after crossing its filaments, expands to form the various lobes of which the brain is composed, and terminates in the two medullar}" arches (vuutes) termed hemispheres, the volume of which con'e- sponds to the amount of intelligence. There are always two jaws, the principal motion of which is in the lower one, which rises and falls ; the upper is oftentimes entirely fixed : both of them are almost always armed with teeth, excrescences of a peculiar nature, the chemical composition of which is very similar to that of bone, but which grows by layers and transudations ; one entire class, however, (that of birds.) has the jaws invested with horn*, and the group of tortoises, in the class of reptiles, is in the same predicament. The intestinal canal is continued from the mouth to the anus, undergoing various inflexions, and several enlargements and contractions ; having also appendages, and receiving solvent fluids, one of which, the saliva, is discharged into the mouth : the others, which flow into the intestine only, have various names ; the two principal are the juices of the gland called the pancreas [or siceet-hread~\, and the bile [or <)uct iicirlr rcadjr for hitchinif, he found ihsl ihc uiargins of the bill were be«t v. 1th lubcrclei arranged in a regular order, and having all the eiterlor appearance of leeth j thrie luberrlci were not, indeed, implanted in the jxrbunci, but formed part of the e\terior ihealh of the bill. Under eaeh labcrcle. however, there »a» a gelatinous pulp, analopiai to the pnlpt «hich .eerele teeth, but resting on the cdj;e of the maxillarr bones, and every pulp was supplied bjr vessels and nerves traver>inic a can il in the sub.t.-ince of the bouc. These tubercles form the 6r>t mvgini of the maiidiblcs, and their rcm&iiu arc indicated by canals in the homy sheath, subsequently formed, which contain a softer material, and \vhti.h commence from small foramina in the mar- gin of the bone. In certain other birds (as the Mergansers) also, the lateral edges of the bill are proviilcd with horny processes or laniinx secreted by distinct pulps, and analogous in this respect to the \\ha!e- boiic laroina? of the Whales, which arc toothless Miimmatia, :is arc also the ant caters tuid iloiiotrciuatd : it is further remarkable that the rudiments uf Ucutitiou occur ia the fatnt of the toothless M'halcs. — Kd. t Tlie lymphatic vessels are also the media of cnlaueous transuda- tion.— Ko. Div. 1. VERTEBRATE ANIMALS. 25 All these animals have a particular secretion, which is that of urine, and which is elaborated in two large glands attached to the sides of the spine of the back, and called kidneys : the liquid which these glands secrete, accumulates most commonly in a reservoir named the bladder. The sexes are separate, and the female has alwaj^s one or two ovaries, from which the eggs are detached at the instant of conception. The male fecundates them with the seminal fluid ; but the mode varies greatly. In most of the genera of the three first classes, it requires an intromission of the fluid ; in some reptiles, and in most of the fishes, it takes place after the exit of the eggs. SUBDIVISION OF THE VERTEBRATE ANIMALS INTO FOUR CLASSES. We have seen to what extent vertebrate animals i-esemble each other : they present, however, four great subdivisions or classes, characterized by the kind or power of their movements, which depend themselves on the quantity of respiration, inasmuch as it is from this respiration that the muscular fibres derive the energy of their irritability. The quantity of respiration depends upon two agents : the first is the relative quantity of blood which presents itself in the respiratory organ in a given instant of time ; the second, the relative amount of [free] oxygen which enters into the com- position of [or is dispersed through] the ambient fluid. The quantity of the former depends upon the disposition of the organs of respiration and of circulation. The organs of the circulation may be double, so that all the blood which is brought back from the various parts of the body by the veins, is forced to circulate through the respiratory organ before returning by the arteries ; or they may be simple, so that a portion only of the blood is obliged to pass through the respiratory organ, the re- mainder returning to the body without having been subjected to respiration. The latter is the case with reptiles. The amount of their respiration, and all the qualities which depend on it, vary according to the quantity of blood which is thrown into the lungs at each pulsation. Fishes have a double circulation, but their organ of respiration is formed to execute its function through the medium of water ; and their blood is only acted upon by that small portion of oxygen which is dissolved or mingled in water ; so that the quantity of their respiration is, perhaps, less than that of reptiles. In mammalians, the circulation is double, and the aerial respiration simple, that is, it is performed in the lungs only : their quantity of respiration is, therefore, superior to that of reptiles, on account of the form of their respiratory organ, and to that of fishes, from the nature of their surrounding medium. But the quantity of respiration in birds is even superior to that of quadrupeds, since they have not only a double circulation and an aerial respiration, but also respire by many other cavities besides the lungs, the air penetrating throughout their bodies, and bathing the branches of the aorta, or main artery of the body, as well as those of the pulmonary artery.* Hence result the four kinds of progression to which the four classes of the vertebrate animals are more particularly destined. The quadrupeds, in which tlie quantity of * In Bati-achian reptiles (frc^s, nen-ts, I'^c). respiration is to a certain extent perforiued over tlie ^\■l^ole outer skin ; M-liicli, on tliis account, requires to be always niuist. Hence, as there can be no ■nusculac actiua without previous rcspirntion, the chemical change effected by which is neetled to develope the rcqiiisite nervous or vital energy, tliose animals of this group which in the adult state have lungs and not gills, but which pass the winter in a toruid state under water, are enabled to resuscitate in spring. — Ed. 26 VEKTEBRATE AJ^IMAXS. Div. 1. respiration is moderate, are generally lormea to walk and run with precision and vigour ; the birds, in which it is greater, have the muscular energy and lightness necessary for flight ; the reptiles, where it is diminished, are condemned to creep, and many of them pass a portion of their life in a state of torpor ; the fishes, in fine, to execute their movements, require to be supported in a fluid specifically almost as heavy as themselves.* All the circumstances of organization proper to each of these four classes, and especially those which refer to motion and the external senses, have a necessary relation with these essential characters. The class of mammalians, however, has peculiar characters in its ^dviparous mode of generation, in the manner in which the foetus is nourished in the womb by means of the placenta, and in the mammse by which they suckle their young. The other classes are, on the contrary, oviparous ; and if we place them together, in opposition to the first, there will be perceived numerous resemblances which announce, on their part, a special plan of organization, subordinate to the great general plan of all the vertebrates. THE FIRST CLASS OF VERTEBRATE ANIMALS. MAMMALIA. Mammalians require to be placed at the head of the animal kingdom, not only because this is the class to which we ourselves belong, but also because it is that which enjoys the most numerous faculties, the most delicate sensations, the most varied powers of motion, and in which all the diff'erent qualities seem together combined to produce a more perfect degree of intelligence, — the one most fertile in resources, most susceptible of perfection, and least the slave of instinct. As their quantity of respiration is moderate, they are in general designed for walking on the ground, but with vigorous and continued steps. Consequently, all the articula- tions of their skeleton have very precise forms, which rigorously determine their motions. Some of them, however, by means of lengthened limbs and extended membranes, raise themselves in the air ; others have the limbs so shortened, that they can employ them with effect only in water ; but they do not the more on this account lose the general characters of the class. • To clcirciiil lo pnrlkular cusps, lioncvcr, it woulil appear tliat •pctlci m«>' 1.C fraim;il on nliiiost every type, even very subordinute types, for nny p»rlicuUr mnilc of life. Thus, to illustrate briefly, the haH, whirli nre true inninmitliuns, nrc moilifieil tor ai^rial progression lilte birils ; and tlic whales, otlicr iiiariMualians, have a fish-lilte exterior, Lelnit ile«l)(ncil to live exclusively In water : so there are birds which arc utterly incapable of lllithl ; tome, as the ostrich, adapted to scour the flnlnv like a quadruped ; others, as the pcnj,'uins, whose only sphere of Bcllvily is in the water: the ptcrodaclyle alTords an ex- ample of a ([enus of flyinj reptiles, the fossil remains of which only have been diirovered. DcsrcndinK to lower jj^roups, we find among birds, a genus of thrushes (Cincfijj) , which sei ks its subsistence under water; and another of totipalmale water-fowl (Tachypetri), which neither swlinj wt dives. Such deviations, however, from the general charmclcr of their allied genera, b»o no lotrtniic&l rclaiicD to the groups which they approximate in habit, — nought that can be regarded as an intentional or designed rrprrsrnlntion of them, as has some- times been im.igined : fur it is evident, that if species based on two dilTcrent plans of organization are respectively nunlified to perform the same oflicc in tlic economy of nature, they must necessarily re- semble, to a certain extent, superfieially, as a consequence of that adaptation ; while there arc many cases also in each class which can- not well be represented in some otliers, as tliat of the mole among quadrupeds, which has no counterpart or correspondent group in the class of birds. Habit, or mode of life, has indeed nothing whatever to do with tlie physiological relations of organisms, which afford the only legitimate l)asis of classification ; and those special modifications to particular habits, which, occurring alike in any class, superinduce a resemblance in superficial characters only, constitute what has been well distinguished by the terra analogy, as opposed lo affinity.— V.t>. Class 1. J.IAMMAXIA. 27 Ffff. 9. They have all the upper jaw fixed to the skuII, and the lower composed of two pieces only, articulated by a projecting condyle to a fixed temporal hone ; the neck consists of seven vertebrse, one single species excepted, v.'hich has nine*; the anterior ribs are attached in front, by cartilage, to a sternum formed of a certain number of pieces placed in a row ; their fore-limb commences in a blade-bone, which is not articulated, but merely suspended in the flesh, often resting on the sternum by means of an intermediate bone, called a clavicle. This extremity is continued by an arm, a fore-arm, and a hand, the last composed of two ranges of small bones, called a "WTist or carpus, of another range of bones termed metacarpus, and of digits or fingers, each of which consists of two or three bones, named phalanges. Excepting the Cetacea, they have all the first part of the hinder extremity fixed to the spine, and forming a girdle or pelvis, which, in youth, consists of three pairs of bones, — the ilium, which is attached to the spine, the pubis, which forms the fore part of the girdle, and the ischium, which constitutes the hind part. At the point of union of these three bones is situate the cavity with which the thigh is articulated, to which, in its turn, is attached the leg, formed of two bones, the tibia and fibula : this extremity is terminated by the foot, which is composed of parts analogous to those of the hand, namely, a tarsus, metatarsus, and digits or toes. The head of m.ammalians is always articulated by two condyles upon the atlas, or first vertebra. Their brain is composed of two hemispheres, united by a medullary layer termed the corpus callosum, containing two ventricles, and enveloping the four pairs of tuber- cles named the corpora striata, the thalami nervoruin opticorum, or beds of the optic nerves, and the nates and testes. Between the optic beds is a third ventricle, which communicates v.'ith a fourth situated under the cei-ebellmn, the crura of which always form a transverse prominence under the medulla oblongata, called the pons Varolii. Their eye, invariably lodged in its orbit, is protected by two lids and a vestige of a third, and has its crystalline fixed by the ciliary process and its simply cellular sclero- tica [or white] . In their ear, there is always found a cavitj'^ named the drum, or tympanum, which communicates with the back part of the mouth, by a canal termed the trumpet, or Eustachian tube : the cavity itself is closed externally by a membrane called the memhrana tympani, and contains a chain of four little bones, named the hammer, anvil, orbicular, and stirrup bones ; a vestibule, on the entrance of which rests the stin-up- bone, and which communicates with three semicircular canals ; and, finally, a cochlea, v.'hich terminates by one passage in the drum, and by another in the vestibule. Their cranium subdivides into three portions : the anterior is formed by the two frontal and the ethmoidal bones ; the middle, by the parietal bones and the sphenoidal ; • The sloth is .lUtitled to, io wliich, however, distinct rudiments of ribs arc attaclicd to the eighth nnd ninth, ns shown in the above fi^nirc '(/, b) ; so tliat, in reaiitv, this constitutes do excejition to the universal rule. — Kd. 28 \T:RTEBEATE animals. Div. 1. and the jwsterior, by the occipital. Between the occipital, the parietal, and the sphe- noidal, are interposed the temporal bones, part of which belong properly to the face. In the fcetus, the occipital bone divides into four parts ; the sphenoidal into halves, which subdivide into three pairs of lateral wings ; the temporal into three, of which one serves to complete the cranium, another to close the labyrinth of the ear, and the third to form the parietes of its drum, &c. These bony portions [centres of ossifica- tion], which are still more numerous in the earliest period of foetal existence, are united more or less promptly, according to the species, and the bones themselves be- come finally consolidated in the adult.* Their face is essentially formed by the two maxillary bones, between which pass the nostrils, and which have the two intermaxillaries in front, and the two palate bones behind ; between them descends a single lamina of the ethmoidal bone, named the vomer; at the entrance of the nasal canal are the bones proper to the nose ; to its external parietes adhere the inferior turbinated bones, which occupy its upper and posterior portion, belonging to the ethmoidal. The jugal or cheek bone unites on each side the maxillary to the temporal bone, and often to the frontal ; lastly, the lachrymal bone occupies the inner angle of the orbit, and sometimes a part of the cheek. These bones also present more numerous subdivisions in the embryo. Their tongue is always fleshy, and attached to a bone termed the hyoidal, which is composed of several pieces, and suspended from the cranium by ligaments. Their lungs, two in number, divided into lobes, and composed of an infinitude of cells, are always inclosed without adhesion in a cavity formed by the ribs and diaphragm, and lined by the i)leura , their organ of voice is always at the upper end of tlie windpipe ; a fleshy elongation, called the velutn palati, establishes a direct com- munication between their larynx and nostrils. Their residence on the surface of the earth exposing them less to the alternations of heat and cold, their body has only a moderate kind of tegument, the hair or fur, and even this is commonly scanty in those of hot climates. f 'I'he cetaceans, which live entirely in water, are the only ones that are altogether deprived of it. The abdominal cavity is lined with a membrane called the peritonaeum ; and their intestinal canal is suspended to a fold of it, termed the mesentery, which contains numerous conglomate glands, in which the lacteal vessels ramify : another production of the peritonaeum, named the epiploon, hangs in front of and under the intestines. The urine, retained for some time in the bladder, is discharged, in the two sexes, with very few exceptions, by orifices in the organs of generation. In all mammalians, generation is essentially viviparous ; that is to say, the foetus, immediately after conception, descends [gradually] into the matrix, inclosed in its envelopes, the exterior of which is named chorion, and the interior amtiios ; it fixes itself to the parietes of this cavity by one or more plexus of vessels, termed the l.,.. : .!»• progre.. of-Ievci,.,u-mcnt. in thi, „n.l other re- t la »o,„e n,onl the brain for Instance, in man, .ue- i I, protect them from the solar rar..-E». Class 1. MAMMALIA. 09 the fcEtus of mammalians, at an earlj' period, has a vessel analogous to that which contains the yolk in the oviparous classes, receiving, in like manner, vessels from the mesenter3\ ^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ another external bladder named the allantoid, which communi- cates with the urinarj' one by a canal termed the urachus. Conception always requires an effectual coitus, in which the fecundating fluid of the male is thrown into the uterus of the female. The young are nourished for some time after birth by a fluid peculiar to this class (the milk), which is produced by the mammae, at the time of parturition, and for as long a period as the young require it. It is from the mammse that this class derives its name, and, being a character peculiar to it, they distinguish it better than any other that is external.* DIVISION OF THE CLASS OF MAMMALIA INTO ORDERS. The variable characters which establish essential differences among the mammalia are taken from the organs of touch, on which depends their degree of ability or address, and from the organs of manducation, which determine the nature of their food, and are connected together, not only with all that relates to the digestive func- tion, but also with a multitude of other differences extending even to their intelligence. The degree of perfection of the organs of touch is estimated by the number and the mobility of the fingers, and from the greater or less extent to which their extremities are enveloped by the nail or the hoof. A hoof which envelopes all that portion of the toe which touches the ground, blunts its sensibility, and renders the foot incapable of seizing. The opposite extreme is where a nail, formed of a single lamina, covers only one of the faces of the extremity of the finger, and leaves the other possessed of all its delicacy. The nature of the food is known by the grinders, to the form of which the articula- tion of the jaws universally corresponds. For cutting flesh, grinders are required as trenchant as a saw, and jaws fitted like scissors, which have no other motion than a vertical one. For bruising grain or roots, flat-crowned grinders are necessary, and jaws that have a lateral motion : in order that the crowns of these teeth should always be irregular, as in a mill, it is further requisite that their substance should be formed of parts of unequal hardness, so that some may wear away faster than others. Hoofed animals are all necessarily herbivorous, and have flat-crowned grinders, in- asmuch as their feet preclude the possibility of their seizing a living prey. Animals with unguiculated fingers are susceptible of more variety ; their food is of all kinds : and, independently of the form of their grinders, they differ greatly from each other in the mobility and delicacy of their fingers. There is one character with respect to this, which has immense influence on their dexterity, and greatly multiplies its powers ; it is the faculty of opposing the thumb to the other fingers for the purpose of seizing small objects, constituting what is properly termed a hand ; a faculty which * We shall find, however, in the sequel some doubts on this sub* i to be no nipples, simple pressure alone causing the fluid to exude, Jc'.t, US regards the family of Monotremnta. [These doubts have In the class of birds, a lacteal fluid is secreted by the crops of the since been removed, inasmuch as the lacteal glands have been de I parrots and pigeons, n-liich is disgorged into the throats of the young tccted, witli their secretion ; though, as in the cetaceftns, there appear ' when ncwlv hatched.— Kd.i 30 VERTEBRATE ANIMALS. Div. 1. is carried to its highest perfection in Man, in whom tlie wliole anterior extremity is free, and capaljle of prehension. These various combinations, which rigidly determine the nature of the different mammalians, have given rise to the following orders : — Among the unguiculates the first is Man, who, besides being privileged in all other respects, has hands to the anterior extremities only ; his hinder limbs support him in an erect position. In the order next to Man, — that of the Quadrumana, there are hands to the four extremities. Another order, that of the Carnaria, has not the thumb free and opposable to the other fingers. These three orders have each the three sorts of teeth, namely, grinders, canines, and incisors, A fourth, that of the Rodentia, in which the toes differ little from those of the Carnaria, is without the canines, and the incisors are placed in front of the mouth, and adapted to a very peculiar sort of manducation. Then come those animals whose toes are much cramped, and deeply sunk in large nails, which are generally curved ; and which have further the imperfection of want- ing the incisors. Some of them are also without canines, and there are others which have no teeth at all. We comprehend them all under the name Edentata. This distribution of the unguiculated animals would be perfect, and form a very regular series, were it not that New Holland has lately furnished us with a small collateral series, composed of the pouched animals [Marsupiata] , the different genera of which are connected together by the aggregate of their organization, although in their teeth, and in the nature of their regimen, some cori'espondto the Carnaria, others to the Rodentia, and others, again, to the Edentata. The hoofed animals are less numerous, and have likewise fewer irregularities. The Ruminantia compose an order veiy distinct, which is characterized by its cloven feet, by the absence of the incisors to the upper jav^^ and by having four stomachs^ All the other hoofed animals may be left together in a single order, which I shall call Pachydermata or Jumenta, the Elephant excepted, which might constitute a separate one, having some distant relation to that of Rodentia. Lastly, those mammalians remain which have no posterior extremities, and whose fish-like form and aquatic mode of life would induce us to form them into a particular class, if it were not that all the rest of their economy is precisely the same as in that wherein we leave them. These are the warm-blooded fishes of the ancients, or the Cetacea, which, uniting to the vigour of the other mammalians the advantage of being sustamed in the watery element, include among them the most gigantic of all animals. [Linnaeus reduced all mammalians to three great groups, Unguiculata, Ungulata, and MuTicA ; terms which are at least convenient for their expressiveness, although tlic groups they represent intergrade, and in some instances invade each other, if too rigorously accepted. His order Primates, as extended to the Bimana, Quadrumana, and Cheiroptera of Cuvicr. receives the approbation of most naturalists ; few regard the last as subordinate to the Carnaria, which is equivalent to Primates. \'icwmg Man zoologically, opinion is divided respecting the proi)riety of assigning Class 1. MAM.MALIA. 31 him a separate ordinal station ; his rudimental structure according so nearly with that of the Quadrumana, of which type he presents the modification for gi-ound hahits and an upright attitude ; his more highly developed brain is merely a diiference in degree. Conceding this much, he would require to be admitted into the same particular gi-oup as all other mammalians based on the same next general plan of structure to that of the entire class ; which special type is externally distinguished by pecu- liarities in the sexual organs, a system of organs of all others the least subject to be influenced by the general modification in reference to habit. It is thus that, after being necessarily included among the Mammalia, Man must next range with the other handed animals and the Bats, in a particular subdivision, which Linnaeus has named Primates. There would appear to be four distinct major groups of Primates : — the Catarrhini, composed of the Apes, Monkeys, and Baboons of the eastern hemisphere ; the Platyrrhini, consisting of the anthropoid animals of America; the Strepsirrhini, or Lemurs (including Galceopithecus, and, perhaps, Cheiromys) ; and the Cheiroptera, or Bats, which last, varying most essentially in their dentition, according as they are frugivorous, sanguivorous, or insectivorous, afford a decisive proof that the dentary system alone, Hke any other single character considered apart from the rest, fails to supply an invariable indication of the affinities of an animal (as has sometimes been stated). We perceive no sufficient reason why the genus i/o»JO should not range at the head of the Catarrhini, though as a distinct family — Hominidce, as opposed to Simiadce ; in accordance wherewith, the Primates present a tolerable series, from the summit of the animal kingdom to forms that are rather low in the class of mammalians. An analogous gradation is exhibited by the second grand division, which De Blain- ville has designated Secundates ; it is the Carnaria of Cuvier divested of the Bats. "We prefer the latter appellation, as more in unison with the names of the succeeding orders ; and for the same reason would substitute Primaria for Primates. Our illustrious author, with a view to present some approximation to a linear suc- cession, has arranged the present series inversely, commencing with those least elevated in the scale, or the Insectivora. To this we cannot accede, as virtually implying an exploded principle. Considered as a carnivorous group, the Feline animals must be selected as the standard — most characteristic example* — of the order ; but in its totality, without reference to especial modifications, the Dog has better claim to be placed at the head. Some curious analogies accordingly present themselves between the respectively highest animals of the two first orders. As a general, perhaps universal rule obtaining in consecutive groups when sufficiently extensive, the summit of the inferior displays a higher organization than the terminal members of the superior f ; and this sometimes in a very remarkable degree, as shown in the present instance. A sort of parallelism may also frequently be observed between such members of two different ordinal types as are of a corresponding degree of eleva- tion in the scale of being : thus, the Shrews present certain characters of the Rodentia, without linking with them. It is on this principle, we suspect, that transitions appear to occur in some instances, from one great type of structure to another ; and a key is hereby supplied to the proper understanding of much that seems otherwise inexplicable. • The word t!/pe Is often employed in this sense we use it in a ' + A proposition which is sanctioned by the acquiescence of Cuvier, •onicwlmt UifTerent one. , •, I as shown by his remarks on linear arrongcnicnt Vide preface. 32 Dis'. 1. \T:RTEBRATE animals.— mammalia. Class 1. We have seen, in the Primaria, that particular plan of conformation so modified as to enable certain species to fly : in the Carnaria, the Seals afford an example of exclusive adaptation to aquatic habits. It could only have been the desire to maintain a sort of continuous succession, as in the former instance, which induced our author to range the Marsupiata next to the Carnaria ; for they are unquestionably the lowest-organized of mammalians, whence their intrusion so high in the system of the class furnishes another proof of the impropriety of allowing undue importance to particular characters. An order which has a better claim to succeed the Carnaria, is that of the fish-like mammalians, or Cetacea ; but, divested of the herbivorous genera ranged in it by Cuvier, which are strict Pachydermata. (It is scarcely necessary to repeat, that modifications which have reference to habit do not necessarily affect the essential relations of organisms). The Pachydermata follow, which, in their turn, must not be regarded as more nearly related to the last, because certain genera of them are analogously adapted for aquatic habits only. We feel compelled to reiterate this general principle, in order to preclude misconception ; the sound inference seems to be, that a tendency to general modification for aquatic habits prevails in this part of the system ; which certainly helps to indicate what orders should be placed in contiguity, though still not of necessity, even admitting that many analogous cases may be cited in corroboration of a vague index being tlius aff"orded.* We prefer to aiTange the Ruminantia next to the Pachydermata ; then the Edentata, and the Rodentia ; and last of all the Marsupiata, including the Monotremata of Cuvier, the formerly doubtful points concerning which are now, with slight reservation, finally set at rest. It will be perceived that this arrangement is tolerably in accordance with the ordinary cerebral developement, and consequent amount of intelligence, of the eight successive orders. Passing on to the Birds, we commence with a higher intellect (in the Parrots) than is manifested in either of the last three, or, perhaps, four orders ; which agrees with the general i^roi^osition stated at p. 43.] THE FIRST ORDER OF MAMMALIANS. 13LMANA, OR M.\N. Man forms but one genus, and that genus the only one of its order. As his history IS more directly interesting to ourselves, and forms the standard of comparison to whicli wc refer that of other animals, we will treat of it more in detail. We will rajjidly sketch whatever Man offers, that is peculiar in each of his organic sy.«tems, amidst all that lie has in common with other mammalians ; we will describe his principal races nnd their distinctive characters ; and finally point out the natural order of the developement of his faculties, both individual and social. •for «n Imtir.f In poli.l. ,cc our remark, oi. certain c-onfonnltics of .truclurc o1.»rrval,lo in the tiro tfrnupn of Pirrots nnd lU^^■\.i. Orber 1. BBIANA, OR MAN. 33 PECULIAR CONFORMATION OF MAN. The foot of Man is very different from that of Apes : it is large ; the leg bears verticalK' upon it ; the heel is expanded beneath ; his toes are shorty and but slightly flexible ; the great toe, longer and larger than the rest, is placed on the same line with and cannot be opposed to them. This foot, then, is proper for supporting the body, but cannot be used for seizing or climbing*, and as the hands are unfitted for walking, Man is the only animal truly bimanous and biped. The whole body of Man is modified for the vertical position. His feet, as we have already seen, furnish him vnih. a larger base than those of other mammalians ; the muscles which re- tain the foot and thigh in the state of extension are more vigorous, whence results the swelling of the calf and buttock ; the flexors of the leg are attached higher up, which permits of com- plete extension of the knee, and renders the calf more apparent. The pelvis is larger, Avhicli separates the thighs and feet, and gives to the trunk that pyramidal form favourable to equi- librium : the necks of the thigh-bones form an angle mth the body of the bone, which increases still more the separation of the feet, and augments the basis of the body. Finally, the head, in this vertical jjosition, is in eouilibrium with the trunk, because its articulation is exactly under the middle of its mass. Were he to desire it, IMan could not, with convenience, walk on all fours : his short and nearly inflexible foot, and his long thigh, would bring the knee to the ground ; his widely sepa- rated shoulders and his arms, too far extended from the median line, would ill support the fore-part of his body ; the great indented muscle which, in quadrupeds, suspends the trunk between the blade-bones as a girth, is smaller in ]Man than in any one among them ; the head is heavier, on account of the magnitude of the brain, and the smallncss of the sinuses or cavi- ties of the bones; and yet the means of supporting it are weaker, for he has neither cervical ligament, nor are the vertebra; so modified as to prevent their flexure forward; he could therefore only maintain his head in the same line with the spine, and then, his eyes and mouth being directed towards the ground, he could not see before him ; the position of these organs is, on the contrary, quite perfect, supjiosing that he walks erectly. The arteries which supply his brain, not being subdivided as in many quadrupeds, and the blood requisite for so voluminous an organ being carried to it with too much violence, fre- quent apoplexies would be the consequence of a horizontal position. Man, then, is designed to be supported by the feet only. He thus preserves the entire use of his hands for the arts, while his organs of sense are most favorably situated for observa- tion. These hands, which derive such advantages from their liberty, receive as many more from their structure. Their thumb, longer in proportion than in the apes, increases the facility of seizing small objects; all the fingers, except the annularis [and this to a certain extent], have separate movements, which is not the case in any other animal, not even in the apes. The nails, covering only one side of the extremities of the fingers, form a support to the touch, witliout in the least depriving it of its delicacy. The arms which support these hands have a solid attachment by their large blade-bone, their strong collar bone, &c. Man, so highly favoured as to dexterity, is not so with regard to strength. His swiftness in running is much inferior to that of other animals of his size ; having neither projecting jaws, nor salient canine teeth, nor crooked nails, he is destitute of ofi'ensive armature; and the sides and upper part of his body being naked, unproyided even with hair, he is absolutely * It is certain, however, that by much practice from early youth, I with the anterior extremities imperfect, have Illustrated this practi ■ the foot lias been known to acquire an amount of dexterity in manual ojicrations, wliich it would not liavc been supposed capable of by those whose feet liave been enveloped from the tin.e they first walked in dose investments. Individuals, in particular, who have been bora cability the most remarkably. The influence of habit in training even the linnd to perform its functions, Trill be appreciated by those who cannot uie their left hand with the same freedom as the right. — En. 34 Div. 1. ^rERTEBRATE ANIMALS.— MA:MT*I.a.IA. Class 1. without defensive weapons : lastly, lie is of all animals that which is latest to acquire the power necessary to provide for himself. But this weakness even has been for him another advantage, in obliging him to have re- coui'se to those internal means — to that intelligence which has been awarded to him in so high a degree. No quadruped approaches him in the magnitude and convolutions of the hemispheres of the brain, that is to sa}', of that part of this organ which is the principal instrument of the intel- lectual operations ; the posterior portion of the same organ extends backwards, so as to form a second covering to the cerebellum ; even the form of the cranium announces this great size of the brain, as the smallncss of the face shows how slightly that portion of the nervous system which influences the external senses predominates in him. These external senses, however, moderate as they all are in Man, are yet extremely delicate and well balanced. His two eyes are directed forwards ; he does not see on two sides at once, like many quadru- peds, which produces more unity in the result of his vision, and concentrates his attention more closely on objects of this kind. The ball and iris of his eye vary but little, which re- strains the activity of his sight to limited distances, and to a determined degree of light. The conch of his ear, possessing but little mobility or extent, does not increase the intensity of sounds, notwithstanding which, of all animals, he best distinguishes their intonation. His nostrils, more comjjlicated than those of apes, are less so than those of all other genera; and yet he appears to be the only animal whose sense of smell is sufficiently delicate to be aftected by unpleasant odours. Delicacy of smell must influence that of taste ; and Man must have a further advantage, in this respect, at least over those animals whose tongues are covered with scales. Lastly, the nicety of his touch results, both from the delicacy of his teguments and the absence of all insensible parts, as well as from the the form of his hand, which is better adapted than that of any other animal for suiting itself to all the small inequahties of surfaces. Man has a particidar pre-eminence in his organ of voice : of all mammalians, he can alone articulate sounds ; the form of his mouth and the great mobility of his lips being probably the cause of this. Hence results his most invaluable mode of communication ; for of all the signs which can be conveniently employed for the transmission of ideas, variations of sound arc tliosc which can be i)crccived at the greatest distance, and in the most various directions simultaneously. It seems that even the position of the heart and of the great vessels bears reference to the vertical carriage. The heart is placed obliquely on the diaphragm, and its point inclines to the left, thereby occasioning a distribution of the aorta differing from that of most quadrupeds. The natural food of Man, judging from his structure, appears to consist jjriucipally of the fruits, roots, and other succulent ])arts of vegetables. His hands aftbrd every facility for gathering them ; his short and but moderately strong jaws on the one hand, and his canines being equal only in length to the other teeth, together with his tuberculated molars on the other, would scarcely permit him either to masticate herbage, or to devour flesh, were these condiments not previously prepared by cooking. Once, hoAvever, possessed of fire, and those arts by which he is aided in seizing animals or killing them at a distance, every living being Was rendered subservient to his nourishment, thereby giving him the means of an indefinite multiplication of his species. His org.ins of digestion are in conformity with those of inanducation; his stomach is simple, his intestinal canal of mean length, his great intestines well marked, his ccecum short and thick, and augmented by a small appendage, and his liver divided only into two lobes and one small one ; bis c])iploon hangs in front of the intestines, and extends into the pelvis. To complete this abridged statement of the anatomical structure of Man, necessary for this Order 1. BBIANA, OR MAN. 35 Introduction, Ave will add, that he has thu't}-1;j\'o vertebras, of wliich seven belong to the neck, twelve to the back, five to the loins, five to the sacrum, and three to the coccyx. Of his ribs, seven pairs are united to the sternum by elongated cartilages, and are called true ribs ; the five following pairs are denominated false ones. His adult cranium consists of eight bones ; an occipital {occipito-basilaire) ; two temporal ; two parietal ; a frontal ; an ethmoidal, and a sphenoidal. The bones of his face are foiu;teen in number ; namely, two maxillaries ; two jugals, each of which joins the temporal to the maxillary bone of its owa side by a sort of handle named the zygomatic arch ; two nasal bones ; two palatines, behind the palate ; a vomer, between the nostrils ; two tm'biuated bones of the nose in the nostrils ; two lachrymals in the inner angles of the orbits, and the single bone of the lower jaw. Each jaw has sixteen teeth : four cutting incisors in the middle, two pointed canines at the corners, and ten molars with tuberculated crowns, five on each side, in all thu-ty-two teeth. His blade-bone has at the extremity of its spine or projecting ridge a tuberosity, named the acromion, to which the clavicle or collar-bone is connected, and over its articulation is a point termed the coracoid process, to which certain muscles are attached. The radius turns completely on the cubitus or ulna, owing to the mode of its articulation with the humerus. The wrist has eight bones, four in each range ; the tarsus has seven ; those of the remaining parts of the hand and foot may be easily counted by the number of digits. Enjoying, by means of his industry, uniform supplies of nom-ishment, Man is at all times inclined to sexual intercourse, without being ever fiu-iously incited. His generative organ is not supported by a bony axis ; the prepuce does not retain it attached to the abdomen j but it hangs in front of the pubis : numerous and large veins, which effect a rapid transfer of the blood of his testes to the general circulation, appear to contribute to the moderation of his desires. The uterus of woman is a simple oval cavity j her mammae, only two in number, are situated on the breast, and correspond mth the facility she possesses of supporting her child upon her arm. PHYSICAL AND MORAL DEVELOPEMENT OF MAN, The ordinaiy produce of the human species is but one child at a birth ; for in five hundred cases of parturition, there is only one of twins, and more than that number is extremely rare. The period of gestation is nine months. A foetus of one month is ordinarily an inch in height; at two months, it is two inches and a quarter; at three months, five inches ; at five months, sLx or seven inches ; at seven months, eleven inches ; and at nine months, eighteen inches. Those which are born prior to the seventh month usually die. The first or milk teeth begin to appear a few months after bu-th, commencing with the incisors. The number increases in two years to twenty, which are shed successively from about the seventh year, to be replaced by others. Of the twelve posterior molars, which are permanent, there are four which make their appearance at foui- years and a half, four at nine years ; the last foiu" being fi-equently not cut until the twentieth year. The foetus grows more rapidly in proportion as it approaches the time of birth. The infant, on the contrary, increases always more and more slowly. It has upwards of a fourth of its height when born, attains the half of it at two years and a half, and the three fourths at nine or ten years. By the eighteenth year the growth almost entirely ceases. Man rarely exceeds sLk feet, and seldom remains imder five. Woman is ordinarily some inches shorter. Puberty manifests itself by external signs, from the tenth to the twelfth year in gkls, and from the twelfth to the sixteenth in boys. It arrives sooner in warm chmates. Either sex very rarely produces before the epoch of this manifestation. Scarcely has the body attained its full growth in height, Dcfore it commences to increase in bulk ; fat accumulates in the cellidar tissue. The different vessels become 36 Div. 1. 'VTIETEBEATE ANIMALS— MA:MMALIA, Class 1. gradually obstructed ; the solids become rigid ; and after a life more or less prolonged, more or less agitated, more or less jjainful, old age arrives, ^^ith decrepitude, decay, and death. Man rarely lives beyond a hundred years ; and most of the species, either from disease, accidents, or merely old i>f^e, perish long before that term. The child needs the assistance of its mother much longer than her milk, whence results an education intellectual as well as physical, and a durable mutual attachment. The nearly equal number of individuals of the two sexes, the difficulty of supporting more than one wife, when wealth does not supjily the want of power, intimate that monogamy is the natural condition of our species ; and as, wherever this kind of union exists, the sire partici2:)ates in the education of his offspring, the length of time required for that education allows the birth of others, whence the natural perpetuity of the conjugal state. From the long period of infantile weak- ness results domestic subordination, and, consequently, the order of society at large, as the j'oung persons which compose the new families continue to preserve with their parents those tender relations to which they have so long been accustomed. This disposition to mutual assistance multiplies to an almost unlimited extent those advantages previously derived by isolated Man from his intelhgence ; it has assisted him to tame or repulse other animals, to defend himself from the effects of climate, and thus enabled him to cover the earth with his species. In other respects, Man appears to possess nothing resembling instinct, no regidar habit of industry produced by innate ideas; all his knowledge is the result of his sensations, his observations, or of those of his predecessors. Transmitted by speech, increased by mechtation, a])])licd to his necessities and his enjoyments, they have given rise to all the arts. Language and letters, by preserving acquired knowledge, are a source of indefinite perfection to his species. It is thus that he has acquired ideas, and oaade all natiire contribute to his wants.''' There are very different degrees of developement, however, in Man. The first hordes, compelled to live by hunting and fishing, or on wild fruits, and being obliged to devote all their time to search for the means of subsistence, and not being able to multiply greatly, because that would have destroyed the game, advanced but slowly ; their arts were limited to the construction of huts and canoes, to covering themselves with skins, and fabricating arrows and nets ; they observed such stars only as served to direct them in their journeys, and some natural o1)jects whose properties were of use to them ; they gained the dog for a comi)auion, because he had a natural inclination for the same kind of life. When they had succeeded in taming the herbivorous animals, they found in the possession of numerous flocks a never-failing source of subsistence, and some leisure, which they enii)loycd in extending the ajihere of their acquirements. Some industry was then emploved in the construction of dwellings and the making of clothes ; the idea of property was admitted, and, consequently, that of barter, together with wealth and difference of conditions, those fruitful sources of the noblest emulation and the vilest passions ; but the necessity of searching for fresh pastures, and of obeying the changes of the seasons, still doomed them to a wandering life, and limited their improvement to a very narrow sphere. The multiplication of the human species, and its improvement in the arts and sciences, has • The nnmrrous alrnctural concnrrcnccs, oil of n hich arc rcriuircd | necessary consequence of their imperfect mc:vns of eomimmication), to promote the intellectual developement of mankind, arc worthy of [ and we perceive how immensely he is indebted also to these ac •crious cnniidcratiou with reference to the unaided faculties of other nnimalw. Fnr example, if the superior Intelligence of Man were not seconded by hit admlrahle hands (so vastly cxcellinif those of the monkey tribe), by his eflieient vocal or({an, S> S'SS? .o**^ \ '% 7'V<7. .■^. Fi^ .4. fiiuirr's 5liiiiiinl liiu|fiDin. %mmiin. HTIMAX RACE— AMERICAN. Fig. 2. — A Man of the Tribe of the Charrua, inhabiting the country between the Parana and the Unuguay, after a portrait by M. Werneu. Fig. 1. — Portrait of a Young Man of Saliva Tribe, on the Banks of the Sinaruco. Fig. 8. — North Ameriran Indian Woman. Fig. 4. — A North American Indian in his War Paint. Orber 1. BIMANA, OR MAN, 39 traverse the great desert. Thrice clid then- ancestors, under Attila, Genghis, and Tamerlane, spread far the terror of their name. The Chinese are the most anciently civilized branch, not only of this race, but of all known nations. A third branch, the Mantchures, have recently conquered and still govern China. The Japanese, Coreans, and nearly all the hordes %Yhich extend to the north-east of Siberia, subject to Russia, aie also to be considered, in a great measure, as originating from this race ; and such also is deemed to be the fact with regard to the original inhabitants of various islands bordering on that archipelago. With the exception of some Chinese literati, the nations of the MongoUan race pertain generally to different sects of Buddism, or the religion of Fo. The origin of this great race appears to have been in the Altai mountains, as that of ours in the Caucasus ; but it is impossible to trace with the same certainty the filiation of its different branches. The history of these wandering nations is as fugitive as their establishments ; and that of the Chinese, confined exclusively to their own cnjpire, furnishes little that is satisfactory with respect to their neighbours. The affinities of their languages are also too little known to direct us in this labyrinth. The languages of the north of the peninsula beyond the Ganges, as well as that of Tliibet, bear some relation to the Chinese, at least in their monosyllabic structure ; and the people who speak them are not without resemblance to the other Mongoles : but the south of this peninsula is inhabited by Malays, whose forms approach them much nearer to the Indians, and whose race and language are distributed over the coasts of all the islands of the Indian archipelago. The innumerable small islands of the southern ocean are also peopled by a handsome race, who appear to hold a near relation to the Indians, and whose language has much affinity with the Malay: but in the interior of the larger islands, particularly in the milder portions of them, there exists another race of men \\'ith black complexions, and negro faces, all extremely barbarous, which are named Alfoiu^ous ; and on the coasts of New Guinea and the neighbouring islands, are other Negroes nearly similar to those of the eastern coast of Africa, which are termed Papons ; to the latter are generally referred the natives of Van Diemen's Land [now rapidly approaching to extermination], and those of New Holland to the Alfourous.* Neither the iMalays nor the Papons are easily referable to either of the three great races ; but can the former be cleai'ly distinguished from their neighbours on both sides, the Caucasian Indians and the Mongolian Chinese ? We avow that we cannot discern in them sufficient traits for that purpose. Are the Papons Negroes, which may formerly have strayed into the Indian Ocean ? We possess neither figures nor descriptions precise enough to enable us to reply to this question. The inhabitants of the north of both continents, the Saraoyedes, the Laplanders, and the Esquimaux, are derived, according to some, from the Mongolian race : but others regard them as mere degenerate offsets from the Scythian and Tartar branches of the Caucasian race. The Americans have not yet been referred clearly to either of the races of the eastern continent ; nevertheless, they have no pi'ecise or constant character, which can entitle them to be considered as a particular one. Their copper-coloured complexion is not sufficient : their general black hair and scanty beard would induce us to approximate them to the Mongoles, if their defined features, their nose as projecting as ours, their large and open eyes, did not oppose such a theory, and correspond with the features of the European. Their languages are as numberless as their tribes, and no demonstrative analogies have as yet been obtained, either with each other, or with those of the ancient world.f [With all deference, I would suggest that naturalists are much too prone to confound resemblance vvhh identity; as if any reason existed of necessity, for analogous races to cUtfer in the least degree. How many geographical mutual representatives are there, which the analogy of allied races forcibly indicates to be distinct, though undistinguishable on minute comparison ! How nearly also do many acknowledged species resemble ! Bearing these facts in mind, does it not appear that the Americans have as good a claim to be regarded as a primary race, as the Mongolians have to be separated as such from the Caucasians ? The arrangement of Blumenbach, who adds the Malayan and American races to the three admitted by Cuvier, has been more generally adopted : but tliere would seem to be quite as good reason for admitting others. Fischer, in his Synopsis Mammalium, indicates what he conceives to be seven species of Homo (reducing the number that had previously * Refer, for the difTerent r.nes wliicli people the isUiiuls of the Indian , t See, on the subieet of tlic Amcrieans, the travels of M. Sim. tnelarvhina, F. Cuv.), the Moustache M. (.V. ccphm, Lin.), the Vaulting M. [S. petaurista, Gm.), the Hochcur (.S'. nictitans, Gm.), &c. A new Monkey appertaining to it is the C. Martini, Waterh.— Of a dark grey, the hairs annulated with yellowish white; lower portions of limbs, crown of the head, and tail, blackish ; hairs near the root of the tail beneath, brown. Inhabits Fernando Po. Several of these smaller kinds are very common in Guinea. Allied to them are the larger green Monkeys; and the series terminates with the JLingabeys, or dusky-coloured white-eyelid Jlonkeys (C. athiops, and C. fuliginosits), which display some peculiarities of gait and gesture, and have the most prominent muzzles of any. The following occurs as a note in the original work. "Pennant has described certain Cmcwotw" — Doucs rather — "without thumbs f, &>h. jvo/ycomos and 5. yenntyinea, of which Illiger has formed his genus CoLOBUs, but I have not been able to see them, and for this reason have not introduced them. M. Temminck assures us that the head and teeth resemble those of a Semnopithecus." This group is now well established, and several species have been added to it ; all of them, however, peculiar to Africa, as tlie members of the last-named genus are to Asia : they differ chiefly from the Doucs in possessing chcck-pouchcs, having the limbs similarly elongated, and only one sort of hair, as in the Apes. A small rudimeiat of a thumb exists in some of them. Nine clearly distinct species have been ascertained ; and there are probably many others. They resolve into two minor groups ; the species composing the first are rather large animals, of a black ground-colour, with very long hair ; those of the second division are smaller, with shorter hair, and rufous ground-colour. Their markings readily distinguish them. The Black Colobin (C. sataiws, AVaterh.)— Quite black, with very long shaggy hair, obviously designed to pro- tect it from the scorching rays of a vertical sun. This animal is common in Fernando Po, and when captured refuses to take sustenance, pining and moaning constantly and very piteously. Ursine Colobin (C. ursinus, Ogilby.) — Black, with grey head and white tail. From Sierra Leone. AVhite-thighed Colobin? (C? leucomeros, Ogilby.)— Established on some imperfect skins. Tlie thighs white ; head, legs, and tail undetermined. From the Gambia. (S7/K. ^jo/.vcowio.?, Pennant; termed liy him the " Full-bottomed Monkey."— Has a long yellowish-white sort of mane, compared to a full-bottomed wig, and a white tail. Brought from Sierra Leone. C. guereza, Ruppel. — The throat and around the face white ; and long flowing white hair on the shoulders and along each side of the body, as if a garment were thrown over it ; end of the tail also w hire, and largely tufted. From Abyssinia. C rufonigcr, Ogilby.— Black above, deep red beneath ; locality unknown. * Tlie T.'ord Moaliey is ^ diminutive of .Vn«.— Eo. t Tlie thvin.b is very small In the Doucs.— Eo. 46 Div. 1. VERTEBEATE AJS^IMALS.— MAMMALIA. Class 1. Sim. ferruginea, Pennant ; called by him the " Bay Jlonkey."— Of a deep bay colour above ; cheeks and under- parts very bright bay. From Sierra Leone. C. Pennantii, AVaterh.— Above blackish; beneath dingy yellow; the sides yellowish red, and cheeks white. From Fernando Po. C TemmhicJin, Kuhl.— Blackish above ; rusty-red beneath and on the cheeks ; the sides yellow. From the Gambia. Is identical with C. ohscurus, Ogilby. The skins of these animals are an article of traffic in Western Africa, but are commonly deprived of the head, limbs, and tail. Jlany Ccrcopitheci are prepared in the same manner.*] The Doucs (Semnojuthecus, F. Cuv.) — Differ from the true Monkeys by having an ackUtional small tubercle on the last of the inferior molars. They are the ordinary Monkeys of the East ; and their lengthened limbs and extremely elongated tail [as in Colohus] give them a peculiar air. Theh muzzle projects very little more than that of the" Gibbons, and, like them, they have callosities on the buttocks ; they appear, likewise, to have no cheek-pouches : then- larynx is furnished with a sac. [The stomach (fig. 3) is singularly complicated, consisting of three divisions ; first, a cardiac pouch, with smooth and simple parietes, slightly bifid at the extremity ; secondly, a middle, very wide and sacculated portion ; thirdly, a narrow, elongated canal, sacculated at its commencement, and of simple structure towards its termination : their food, accordingly, is supposed to be more herba- ceous than that of other Catarrhini, which is further intimated by the blunter tubercles of their molars, and the elongation of their intestines and coecum. Their hair is of one kind only, ajjproaching in character to that of the Gibbons. Theu* movements are staid and deliberate, though capable of much agiUty ; and the gravity of their deportment is expressed by their systematic name. Fourteen or fifteen species have been determined, of which the most extraordinary is] The Long-nosed or Proboscis Douc (Sim. nasica, Schr. ; Nasalis larvatus, Geof.f) [The S. recitrvus, Vig, and Horsf., is ajiparently the young.] — It is of large size, and yellowish colour tinted with red ; the nose extremely long and projecting, in form of a sloping spatula. This species inhabits Borneo, and lives in great troops, which assemble inorning and evening on the branches of the great trees on the banks of the rivers ; its cry is KaAaic. Is stated also to occur in Cochin China. The Variegated Douc (S. netnaus, Geof.)— Remarkable for its lively and varied colouring: the body and arms are grey ; the hands, thighs, and feet black ; legs of a lively red ; the tail, [fore-arm,] and a large triangnlar .spot upon the loins, white; face orange; and there is also a black aiul red collar, and tufts of yellow hairs on the sides of the head. It inhabits Cochin China. (The genus Lasiopyga of Illiger was founded on a mutilated skin of this animal.) S. cntellns, Dufres. [The species most frequently brought alive to Europe.]— Of a light yellowish grey colour, with black hair on the eyebrows and sides of the head, directed forwards. From Upper Bengal, where it is held in superstitious reverence. [Some frequent the Pagodas. Several arc black, dusky, or ash-coloured. S. auratus, Geof., is uniform bright golden yellow, with a black patch on each knee. The Simpai (S. mclalophits, Cuv.) is of a very lively red ; beneath white : its face is blue ; and a crest of black hairs reaches from one ear to the other. Some have the hair of the head turned up, foruiing a sort of crest. All are from the islands of the Indian Ocean, and neighbouring regions of Asia.] The Macaciues {Macacus, Desm.) — Possess, hke the Doucs, a fifth tubercle on their last molars, and callosities and cheek-pouches like the true Monkeys. Their hmbs are shorter and stouter than in the former ; their muzzle is more elongated, and the superciliary ridge more prominent than in either the one or the other. Though docile when young, they become unmanageable with age. They have all a sac which communicates with * I hnvc nvniled myself of this opportunity to ijivc n more complete 1 t The nnatoniy of this .iniinnl is now iinowu to nccoiil with tliat ot list of the Cufoii thaa has hitherto been published,— Eo. | the otlicr Doues.— En. Fig. 3. Vll 3 '' %^- i'ip;iail^'l Bnliooh Jihu-k Ji:il>(.nM. 'iM Mandrill . Ma^ot ■ Order 2. QUADEUMANA. 47 the larynx under the thyroid cartilage, and which fills ■with air when they cry out. Their tail is pendent, and takes no part in their movements ; [it varies in length from a tubercle to longer than the body.] They produce early, but are not completely adult for four or five years. The period of gesta- tion is seven months ; during the rutting season the external generative organs of the female l)ecome excessively distended [as in the Baboons]. Most of them [all] inhabit India [and its Archipelago. At least seven species have been ascertained, the most remarkable of which is] The Manecl Macaque or Wanderoo {film. Silenus and leonina, Lin.)— Black, with an ash-coloured mane and whitish beard surrounding the head. [Tail moderately long-, and slightly tufted.] Inhabits Ceylon. [The Bonneted Macaque (^1/. sinicus), and the Toque (xV. radlatus), have the hairs on the top of the head dis- posed as radii ; these, with the Hare-lipped M. {M. qinomolgus), have long tails. In the I'ig-tailed Macaque (.1/. rhesus), this appendage reaches little below the hamstrings : it is shorter, thin, and wrinkled in the Brown 'Ma.cuYo.G {M. nemestrinus); and in the Black M. (J/. ?»'i/e;', Ben. ; Cynocephalus nigcr, Des,n\., and of Cuyier's last edition), it is reduced to a mere tubercle. The Black Macaque is wholly of that colour, with an erect tuft of nair on the top of its head ; its native country Celebes.] The Magots (Inuiis, Cuv.) Mere Macaques, which have a small tubercle in place of a tail. [According to this definition, the last-named species should be introduced here : the only known Magot, however, does not well range with the others ; its cranium is intermediate to those of the Macaci and Cynocephali], The Barbary Magot (Sim. sylvanus, })ithcciis, and iniitis, Lin.) — Completely covered with greenish-brown hair. Of all the tribe, this suffers least in our climates. Originally from Barbary, it is said to have become naturalized on the Rock of Gibraltar.* [This well-known species, in its wild state, is both lively and remarkably intelligent at all ages ; but, subjected to the restraint of captivity, becomes sullen and unmanageable as it grows up ; forcibly illustrating what has been stated in a note to the Ourangs.] The Baboons {Cynocephalus^ Cuv.), — Together with the teeth, cheek-pouches, and callosities of the preceding, have an elongated muzzle abruptly truncate at the end, where the nostrils are pierced, which gives it a greater resemblance to that of a Dog than of other Monkeys ; their tail varies in length. They are generally large, ferocious, and dangerous animals, of which the majority [all of them] inhabit Africa. [Some have the tail long and tufted, as the Gelada Baboon (Macacus gelada of Ruppell).— This has the upper parts covered with very long hair, of a pale brown on the head, shoulders, and rump, blackish on the back ; a dark medial line extends backwards from the forehead ; the extremities are black. A native of Abyssinia. The others have the hair grizzled or annulated. Such are the Tartariu Baboon (Sim. /lamadn/as, Lin.), of a slightly bluish ash-colour (grizzled black and white); face flesh-coloured: inhabits Arabia and Ethiopia. The Chacma B. (Sim. pnrcaria, Bodd. ; S. ursina, Venn ; S. sjj/ij/ngiola, Herm.), which is black, with a yellowish or greenish glaze, particularly on the forehead ; the face and hands black, and the adult has a large mane. From the Cape of Good Hope. The Anubis B. (C. anubis, F. Cuv.), is another huge Cape species, uniformly grizzled black and yellow ; the face black, and snout much elongated. The Sphynx B. (.S'/)«. splii/nx, Lin., and it would appear from descriptions, also, C. papio, Desm.), is likewise yellowish, more or less tinged with brown ; face black ; the cheek-tufts fulvous : inhabits Guinea. Lastly, the Babouin (Sim. cynocephalus, F. Cuv.), has a shorter tail, and coat more inclining to greenish ; also whitish cheek-tufts, and flesh-coloured visage.] The Mandrills — Are, of all the Monkey tribe, those which have the longest muzzle (thirty degrees t) ; their tail is vei7 short ; they are also extremely brutal and ferocious ; nose as in the others. The Mandrill Baboon (Sim. maimon and mormon, Lin.)— Greyish brown, inclining to ohve above ; a small citron-yellow beard on the chin ; cheeks blue and furrowed. The adult males have the nose red, particularly at the end, where it is scarlet ; the genital parts and those about the anus, are of the same colour ; the buttocks are of a flue violet. It is diflicult to imagine a more hideous and extraordinary animal. It nearly attains the size of a Jlan, and is a terror to the negroes of Guinla. Many details of its history have been mixed up with that of the Clumpanzee, and consequently with that of the Ourang-outang. Tlie Drill (Sim. leiicopha;a, F. Cuv.)— Yellowish grey, the visage black ; in old ones the coat becomes darker ; [the white hairs on the belly are much elongated], and the chin is bright red. [Hideous as the animals of this genus appear, and disgustingly deformed to those who have only seen them in captivity, their adaptation to a peculiar mode of life is of course as exquisite as that of any other animal, and requires only to be understood to command an amount of admiration, which must lessen to a considerable • Pi//ifCHS is the Greek name for Monkeys in general ; and tlic one . spctics, all that Galen has stated respectin; the anatomy of his ot wliith the ai\atoiny is given by Galen v.-as a Majfot, although Pithccns. Camper tnought it was an Ourang-outang. M. de Blainvilli- perceived I t The Ouranfrs will bear comparison.— to. this mistake, und 1 have proved it liv eoniparing with tlicse two ( 48 Div. 1. YEKTEBEATE ANBIALS.— MAMMALIA. Class ]. extent the abhorrence with which we are apt to regard them. It has lately been discovered that they chiefly inhabit barren stony places, where they subsist, for the most part, upon scorpions ; to procure which they employ their hands to lift up the numerous loose stones, under most of which one or more of these creatures commonly lie concealed; their stings they extract with dexterity. Accordingly, we find tliat the Baboons are expressly modified for traversing the ground on all-fours, and are furnished with eihcient hands ; their eyes are peculiarly placed, directed downwards along the visage. AVant of space necessarily prevents us, generally, from noticing these highly interesting relations, afforded by the special modifications of structure in reference to habit: but we avail ourselves of the present instance (which is little known*) to call attention to them. ^Yith the Baboons, the series of CAT.\RRniNi (Geof.) terminates ; and we may observe that the SiiniadcE fall mider three principal divisions. First, that of the Apes, (comprising the Chimpanzee, Ourangs, and Gibbons), tail-less genera, which have the liver divided as in Man, an appendage to the coecum, &c. Second, the slender-limbed Monkeys, with sacculated stomachs and longer intestines (or the Doucs, and most probably the Colobins), all of which have exceedingly long tails. Third, those with shorter and stouter hmbs, a simple stomach, and tail varying iu length from a tubercle to longer than the body. These last (or the true l\Ionke}'s, Macaques, Magots, and Baboons), are all partly insectivorous ; and the habit mentioned of the Baboons, of turning over stones in quest of prey, applies perhaps more or less to all of them, but particularly to the Magot and some Monkeys. In the two fii'St divisions, the coat consists of only one sort of hair ; in the last of two sorts, the longer and coarser of which is mostly annulated with two colours. It is remarkable that none of the genera are common to Asia and Africa (one Baboon only extending to Arabia), and, until very recently, no remains of any had occurred in a fossil state ; but the jaw of one said to be allied to the Gibbons has lately been detected in a tertiaiy deposit, at Sanson, France ; and some bones, adjudged to be those of Macaques, iu the tertiary ranges of northern India.] The Monkey-like Animals of the New World, [Platyrrhini, Geof.'],— Have four griuders more tliau the others, thirty-six in all ; the tail [with very few excep- tions] long ; no chcek-ponches ; the buttocks hairy and without callosities ; nostrils opening on the sides of the nose, and not underneath ; [the thumbs of the anterior hands no longer ojiposablet-] All the great Quadrumana of America pertain to this division. J Their large in- testines are less inflated, and their coecum longer and more slender than in the preceding divisions. The tails of some of them are prehensile, that is to say, their extremity can twist rovmd a body with sufficient force to seize it as with a hand.§ Such have been designated Sapajous {Cchus, Erxl.) At their head may be placed the Stentors {Mycetcs, Illigcr), — Or Howling Monkeys \_Alouattcs of the French], which arc distinguished by a pyramidal head, the upper jaw of Avhich descends much below the cranium, while the branches of the lower one ascend very high, for the pui-pose of lodging a bony drum, formed by a vesicular inflation of the hyoid bone, which communicates with tiicir larynx, and imparts to tlieir voice prodigious volume ami a most frightful sound. Hence the appellations which have been bestowed on tiicm. The prehensile portion of their tail is naked beneath. [Tlie Rufous Stentor (Shn. snuculus. Buff., Supp. vii. 25), the Ursine Stcntor {Utentor iininiis, Geoff.), and at least five other species, arc now tolerably established. They are shaggy animals, averaging the size of a Fox, of (lillercnt shades of brown or blackish, the females of son:e being dillVrently coloured from tlic males; such is M. barbittits, Sjiix, pi. .32, of which the male is black and bearded, the female and young pale yellowish-grey. 1| They are of an indolent and social disposition, and grave deportment ; utter their hideous yelU and howling by night ; subsist on fruits and foliage, and are deemed good eating.] * For the Informnlion communicated, wc nrc indebted to Dr. A. Smith, the conductor of the South Africiiii expedition from the Cnpc colony. — Ko, + They nre but sliirhtl}- so in m.iny of the Si:iiiiiil,r.—Ko. t Dy tliis is ine.mt, thnt the Miirmoscls and T.->niarini( {Olthtilis of our ftulhor) arc excluded from tlic gcncr;iliz.ition.— Ed. § This organ possessing; in an eminent degree ttie sense of touch, where the clinr.ictcr i.s most developed. — Kn. II Cuvier accordinj;ly .sut^^csts, inadvertently, that tlic M. slramiticnl Spi.\, pi. ,T1, which is entirely of a strnw-ycllow colour, may be tliu female of some other; Spix, however, figures a male.— Kd. Order 2, QUADRUMANA. 49 The Ordinary Sapajous have the head flat, the muzzle but slightly prominent (sixty degrees). In some the anterior thumbs are nearly or quite hidden in the skin, and the prehensile portion of the tail naked beneath. They constitute the genus CoAiTA {Ateles, Geof.), — [Or the Spider Monheys, as they are commonly termed, in allusion to their long slender limbs, and sprawling movements.] The first species, the Chamek {A. subpentqdccft/lus, Geof.), has a slight projection of the thumb, though only for one phalanx, which has no nail. Another, the Jlikiri (At. h;ipoxanthtis, Pr. Max. ; Brachytcles macrotarsus, Spix), has also a very small thumb, and sometimes even a nail. These two species are separated by Spbc under the name Brachi/teles. They connect Ateles with Lagothrix.* The others, to which alone Spix applies the name Ateles, have no apparent thumb whatever. [Six have been ascertained ; one of them the Sim. paiiiscits, Lin.] All the above are natives of Guiana and Brazil. Their limbs are very long and slender, and their gait slow and deliberate. They exhibit some remarkable resemblances to Man in their muscles, and, of all animals, alone have the biceps of the thigh made like his. [Accordingly, they make little use of their fore-hands in progression. Their colours are chiefly or wholly black, or fulvous-grey ; face black, or flesh-coloured. They are gentle and confiding, and capable of much attachment. Some attain to as large a stature as the preceding.] The Gastromargues {Layothrix, Geof. ; Gastromargas, Spix). Head round, as in the Coaitas ; the thumb developed, as in the Stentors ; and tail partly naked, like the one and the other. Such are — The Caparo, Hiimb. (L. Humboldtii, Geof. ; G. olicacetis, Spix), and the Grison (L. canus, Geof. ; G. infumatus, Spix.)— Inhabitants of the interior of South America, said to be remarkable gluttons. Their limbs are shorter and stouter than in the Coaitas, and they often raise themselves on their hinder extremities : occur in numerous bands. The Other Sapajous, or The Capuchins {Cehus, Geof.) — Have a round head, the thumbs distinct, and the tail entirely hairy, though prehensile. The species are still more numerous than those of the Stentors, and almost as difficult to characterize. Some have the hair upon the forehead of a uniform length ; as the Sajou {Sim. apella, Lin.), and the Capuchm» {Auct.] (S. capucina, Lin.) : others have the hair of the forehead so disposed as to form aigrettes ; as the Horned Capuchin {Sim. fatnellus, Gm., which has a tuft of black hairs on each side of the forehead), the C. cirrldfer, Geof., and the Cebus of the same name of Pr. Max., but which is difi'erent — C. crisiatus, F. Cuv. There are nu- merous others ; but we require many observations, made in the places where these animals inhabit, before we can hope to estabUsh their species otherwise than in an arbitrary manner. [About sixteen are commonly admitted, most of which are of different shades of brown, some very variable. They are of smaller size than the preceding, and of mild and gentle disposition ; their motions are quick and light, and they are easily tamed. Several exhale a strong odour of musk.] In the SAiMiRif, the tail is depressed, and almost ceases to be prehensile; the head is very much flattened ; in the interorbital partition of the cranium there is a membranous space. Only one species is known, — The Saimiri {Sim. scinrea, Buff. xv. 10.)— Size of a Squirrel; of a yellowish grey; the fore-arms, legs, and the four extremities, of a fulvous-yellow; end of the nose black. [A pretty, vivacious little animal, which subsists much on insects, and is also carnivorous. Its tail is sub-prehensile, or capable of coding slightly throughout its length, and so holding in a moderate degree ; but its extremity cannot seize a small object : it is often wound round the body.] The remaining j\Ionkey-like animals of xVmerica have the tail not at all preheusilcj Several have that appendage very long and tufted, whence they have been termed Fox-tailed Monkeys: their teeth project forwards more than in the others. They are The Sakis {Pithecia, Desm. and Ilhg.), — [Wiich are again divisible into three minor groups. Of these, the first is represented by the Yarke Saki {Sim. Pithecia, Lin., P. leucocephala), and three or four others : singular-looking animals, with extremely long haii", except on the head, where, in most of tlie genus, it is parted. In the Yarke, the head is whitisli, and all the other parts brown-black, which adds to the strangeness of its appearance. The Jacket Saki {Sim. sui/ulata, Traill), illustrates * The latter may do so, but certainly not the former, which is in «11 other respects a characteristic Attlrs. — Ed. t ^"ffciwuj (or, what would be preferable, Sngunus,) of some. this name, however, »rlginally proposed by LaccpcUe for the Saijouins, VaUithrii), among which the Saimiri was included, can only lead to contusion if applied to the latter exclusively. We would suggest^ therefore, the appellation Samiritf formed out of the vernacular. — Eb. t It nas a propensity to curl in the Marmosets, if not iu the Ss gouins. — En, 50 Div. 1. YEETEBRATE ANIMALS.— MAMMALIA. Class 1. the next group, which chiefly differs from the third (BracJnjurus, Spix), in possessing a long tail : the hair is comparatively short, and in the Jacket Saki of a rich dark brown, except on the head, where it is longer, crisped, and deep black, as is also its fine bushy beard. Others would appear intermediate, as the P. satanas, Humb. : seemingly allied to which is the Bi-aclnjunis israelitiis of SpLx, and the diminutive P. melanoccpjuda of Humboldt.* These last are represented as mainly frugivorous, and the first to be great destroyers both of wild bees and their honey. Tliey are said to inhabit the very depth of the forest, and to repose during mid-day ; are moderately social, and crepuscular if not nocturnal in their time of action.] There are also some, The Sagouins {Callithnx, Geof.), — The tail of which is slender, and the teeth do not project. They were a long time associated with the Saimiri, hut the head of the Sagouius is much higher, and their caniues considerably shorter. Such are Tlie jNIasked Sagouin (C.personata, Geof.), the "Widow Sagouin (C. Itigens, Humb.), [and several others ; some of which have been ascertained to live in pairs, while others, (as the C. mclanocMr, Pr. Max.), assemble in numerous bands, and make a loud and unpleasant yelping about sunrise. They are very carnivorous, though small, and spring to a considerable distance on birds and other prey, for which they lie in wait ; are also dexterous in seizing flying insects with the hand. They have none of the sprightliness of the Saimiri.] The Douroucouli {Nocthorus, F. Cuv. ; Ntjctipithecv.s, Spix : improperly named Jotus by Illiger), — Only dift'er from the Sagouins by their great nocturnal eyes, and in their eais being partly hidden under the hair. [Three species are now known, of somewhat Lemur-like appearance, but still havmg no particular relation- ship with the Lemurs. They are almost lethargic by day, which they pass in the darkest recesses of the hollows of trees ; but at night are all energy and activity, and subsist on small birds and insects, as well as fruit : they drink little, and appear lo live in pairs.] All the foregoing animals are from Guiana or Brazil. The Ouistitis {Uapale, Illiger), — Constitute a small genus, similar to the Sakis, and which was long confounded in the great genus Slmia. They have, in fact, like the American Monkey-like animals in general, the head round, visage flat, nostrils lateral, the buttocks hair}', no cheek-pouches ; and, like the latter divisions of them in particular, the tail not prehensile : but they have only twenty grinders, like those of the old continent. All their nails are compressed and pointed, except those of the hinder thumbs [a character to which the immediately precechng divisions approx- imate], and their anterior thumbs are so little separated from the other digits, that we hesi- tate to apply the name Quadrumana to them. All are diminutive animals of pleasing forms, and ai-e easily tamed. [Their brain is sur})risingly low, almost A;'ithout convolutions.] M. Geoffrey distinguishes the Ouisfitts, properly so called, by the name Jacchus. They ai'e the M.\RM0SETS {Ilapale, as restricted), — Which, for characters, have the inferior incisors pointed, and placed in a ciu-ved line, equalling the canines. Their tail is annulated, and well covered with hair ; and their ears are generally tufted. [Seven or eight species are tolerably established, some of which are subject to vary. Tliese pretty little creatures arc gregarious, and very indiscriminate feeders ; are indeed rapacious, and in confinement will eagerly seize and prey on gold fishes, &c. They produce two or three young at a birth.] M. Geoffrey designates as Tamarins {Midas), — Those species which have inferior trenchant incisors placed in an almost straight Line, and shorter than the canines. Their tail is also more slender, and not annulated. [These differ more than the others, and arc also somewhat variable in colour. At least seven or eight have been ascertained, of which the Tinchc (Sim. a-dipits, Lin.), is the longest known. Those curious little beings, tlie Silky Tainarin (.1/. rosalia), and the Leoncito, or Lion Monkey of Humboldt (M. leoniniis), fall under this division. • n is probnlile ihat nil but llic members cf the first shoiUU rai-.gc iu the division Brcchyurus, Spix, fprovidcd this be scpprablc,) whiuh na:nc is cuusciuciitly ill chosen.— Ed. TLEMTriR. Vlll I!.. I I.. Tiiur. p.,. I 1,, Willi. Ij.,iii...l 1.. Order 2. QUADROIiSJ^A. 51 All are restlessly active, and extremely rapid in their movements ; also remarkably short-tempered, bristling with fury vrheu enraged, and putting on a most formidable appearance, considering their size. They are so cleanly, that any appearance of dirt about their habitations causes them to fret ; and are exceedingly sensitive of damp : but, if duly attended to, are easily kept in captivity. The Platyrrhini -were very properly ranged by Buffon in two great natural divisions, named by liim Sapajous and Sagouixs ; to the latter of which the Ouistitis are strictly referable, to judge from the aggregate of their conformation. "We cannot but think that Cuvier has, in this rare instance, attached undue importance to the number of molar teeth, in so decidedly separating the Ouistitis from the other small American Quadrumana.'] The Lemurs, {Lemur, Liun.), ' [Strepsirrhini, Geof.'\, — Comprehend, aecoi'dmg to Linnseus, all the Quadrumana which have [supposed] Incisors in either jaw diSering in number from four, or at least othermse directed than in the Monkeys. This negative character could not fail to em- m:%m: I •4 Fig. 4.— Hand and Foot of Lemur brace very difl'orent beings, while it did not imite those which should range to- gether. M. Geoffroy has established several better characterized divisions in th'.s genus. The four tluimbs of these animals are Avell developed and oppos- able, and the first hind finger is armed with a raised and pointed claw (iig. A), all the other nails being flat. Theh cover- ing is woolly; and their teeth begin to exhibit sharp tubercles, catching in each other, as in the Insectivora. [These animals have been described to differ from all other Mammalia in the circum- stance of their upper canines locking outside or before the lower : but we have just discovered that their true inferior canmes have always hitherto been mistaken for ad- ditional incisors, which they resemble in general aspect and direction ; while the succeeding tooth, which from its size and appearance has been sujiposed to be the lower canine, is in reahty the first false molar ; (as will readily appear on opposing the successive teeth of both jaws). In the genus Tarsius, however, the true canine assumes more of its ordinary form; and the same is observable of the first false molar in Microcebus* The grinding motion of the lower jaw is exceedingly reduced.] The Lemurs, properly so called {Lemur, as restricted [Prosimta, Briss.]), — Have six [four] lovicr incisors, compressed, and slanting forwards [as are also the canines] ; four in the upper jaw, which are straight, those intermediate being separated from each other ; trenchant [upper] canines ; six molars on each side above, and six belowf; the ears small. They are very nimble animals, and have been designated Fox-nosed Monkeys, from their pointed heads. They subsist on fruits. Their species are veiy immerous, and inhabit only the island of iladagascar, where they appear to replace the Monkey-tribe, which, it is said, do not exist there. They differ but shghtly among themselves, except in colour. [Tlnrteen, at least, have been ascertained definitively ; one of the longest known of which is the Macaco of Bufton, or the Ring-tailed Lemur (L. catta, Lin.), which is ash-grey, the taO annulated black and white. Otiiers are black, or rufous, with sometimes ^\hite ; and one beautiful species, the Rufled Lemur (-L. macaco, Lin.), is • An approach to this deviation on the part of the inferior canine is noticeable in the adult Mandrill.— Eo. t The latter statement chances to be correct, but, as intended would have been erioncou? -Ed. 52 DiT. 1. VERTEBRATE ANIJ»IALS.— MAMJMALIA. Class 1. varied with large patches of" black on a pure white g:ronnd. They average the size of a large Cat, but have longer limbs ; and have all long tails, which are elevated in a sigmoid form, when in motion, and not trailed after them. They are nocturnal or twilight animals, which sleep by day in a ball-like figure, perched on a bough ; are gentle in disposition, and easily tamed ; hat have much less intelligence than the Monkeys, and are without the prying, mischievous propensities of those animals : their ordinary voice is a low grunt, but they often break forth into a hoarse abrupt roar, producing a startling effect ; in their native forests they frequently thus roar in concert.! The Indris {Lichanotiis, Illiger) — Have teeth as in the preceding, except that there are only four [two] lower incisors [the central pro- hably soon falling. Their hinder limbs are extremely long ; the head broad, muzzle short, and hands long.] But one species is known, without tail [this appendage being reduced to a tubercle], three feet in height, blacky with the face grey, and white behind (Lemur iiidri, Lin., Indris brevicaudatus, Geof.), which the inhabitants of Madagascar tame, and train to the chace like a Dog. The Long-tailed Indri {Lemur laniger, Gm.) needs further examination. [The latter appears to be very intimately allied to a species, with a naked face, named PropitJiecus diadema by Bennett, (Macromerus lyplcus, Smith,) the systematic characters of which seem hardly to warrant its separa- tion from the Indris. Both are natives of Madagascar, and it is doubtful whether the present genus should not precede the last. The Short-tailed Indri is the most human-like of its tribe. The Macaucos {Microcebus, Geof., Galagoidcs, Smith) — Have the head roimd ; muzzle short and pointed ; ears moderate and erect ; the fore-limbs small : font incisors above, the central larger ; also four below, with similar projecting canines, as in Lemur ; the upper canines are small and pointed ; and the iirst inferior false molar is scarcely larger than the next : the cheek-teeth incUcate a partly insectivorous regimen. Their scrotum is disproportionately large. Two small species are known : the Murine Macauco (Lemur murhius, Pen .), w hich is Buffon's Rat of Madagascar ; and the Brown Macauco (M. pusillits, Geof. ; also Galago madagascaricnsis, Geof., G. demidaffii, Fischer, and Otolicnus madagascaricnsis, Schinz). The Lemur cinereus, Geof. and Desm. (Petit Maki, Buff.), may perhaps con- stitute a third. These little animals have much the aspect, and also the manners, of a large Dormouse, which they further resemble in nestling in the holes of trees, which serve them for a dormitory : during day they sleep rolled up in a ball, and only rouse from their torpor on the approach of twilight, but are then extremely agile and lively. Of tlieir habits in a state of nature we know little, except f liat they are arboreal.] The Loris {Stenops, lUiger) — Have the teeth of the Lemurs, except that the points of their grinders are more acute ; the short muzzle ofamastift"; body slender ; no tail ; large approximating eyes; the tongue rough. They subsist on insects, occasionally on small birds or quadrupeds, and have an excessively slow gait : their mode of life is nocturnal. Sir A. Carlisle has found that the base of the arteries of the limbs is divided into small branches, [anastomosing freely with each other,] as in the true Sloths, [the object of which appears to be to enable them to sustain a long continuance of muscular contraction. The same cha- racter occurs, however, in the Cctacea.']. Only two species are known, both from the East Indies ; the Short-limbed Loris (Lemur tard'igradus, Lin,), and the Slender Loris (L. gracilis) : the former has been made a separate genus of by Gcoffroy, who styles it Stjcticchtts ; but he is wrong in asserting that it has only two incisors in the upper jaw : the latter is remarkable for the disproiwrtionate elongation of its limbs, and especially of its fore-arms. [These most singular animals are eminently nocturnal and arboreal, being incommoded by daylight ; they are also very susceptible of cold, which makes them dull and inanimate. During the day, they sleep clinging to a branch, with the body drawn together, and head sunk upon the chest ; at night they iirowl among the forest boughs in quest of food. Nothing can escape the scrutiny of their large glaring orbs : tlioy mark their victim, insect or bird, and cautiously nn Ccphaiotes, Geof. (Ilypodcrmis, Is. Geof.), Harpyia, IHiger {Cephalotes, Is. Geof.), and Macrofflossut.x Six species are linown of Pac/iysonia, viliich present some other peculiar characters, and vary in size from ten to twenty inches across : the remaining three respectively consist of one known species only, viz., C. Peronii, sometimes two and a half feet in extent,—//. PaUasii (fig. 9), a singular looking animal, from Ti- niour, fourteen inches across, with a claw on its fore-finger (like the Cephalot), and projecting tubular nostrils, — and M. rostratus, the Kiodote, the smallest of the tribe, rarely measuring a foot in spread of wing, and which is kno.vn to subsist chiefly on the fruit of the Clove {Eugenia) ; its gxinders are remarkably diminutive. Between these frugivorous Cheiroptera and the following genera, the lapse is very considerable.] The Roussettes having been detached, the genuine Bats remain, all of which [excepting Desmodus] are insectivorous, and possess three grinders on each side of both jaws, beset with conical points, and preceded by a variable number of false molars. Their index never has a nail, and, a single sub- genus excepted, the membrane always extends between their hind-legs. [The greater number have cheek-pouches, and most, if not all, emit a peculiar low clicking note.] They should be divided into two principal tribes : the first having three bony phalanges to the middle finger of the wing, wliile the other finger and the index even have only two. To this tribe which is almost exclusively foreign, belong the following subgenera : — x?;?3ss i "'\ ''\^'" Fig 9 — Harpyia PrtlUsii. The Molossines {Molossus, Geof. DysopusX, Illig.) These have the muzzle simple ; the ears broad and short, arising near the angle of the lips, and uniting with each other upon the muzzle ; the tragus short, aud not enveloped by the conch. Their tail occupies the whole length of the interfemoral membrane, and very often extends beyond it. [Their wings are narrow, and body large and heavy.] It is seldom that they have more than two in- cisors to each jaw : but, according to M. Temminck, several of them have at first six below, four of which they successively lose. • This passft&^c occurs in the Appendix to the original work. — Ed. + The term MucrogloisuSf however, has unfortunately been pre- occupieil in Entomology ; for which reason Kiodotus (Ihe common name of the species, latinized] may be proposed in its stead, Uarpyia is likewise used in OrnitholoET, where another appellation must be substituted.— Ed. J This term is more generally accepted.— Ed. 58 Div. 1. VERTEBEATE ANIMALS.— MAM"MALIA. Class 1. Fig. 10.— llcaJ of Dysopus tenuis. The Dinops of M. Savi refers to these Molossiues with six inferior incisors. There is one of them in Italy {Dinops ccstonli, Savi). M. Geoffrey has applied the name Nyctonomus to those wliich have four inferior incisors. Tlie Molossines were at first dis- covered only in America; but >ve now know several from both con- tinents. Some of them have t!ie hinder thumb placed farther from the other dibits than these are from each other, and capable of , , i i -n. it„,. r,ni,i 1,1= separate motion; a character on which, in one species where it is very strongly marked. Dr. l.oi .field has established Ids o-enus Cheiromdcs [the ears of which, also, differ in being widely separated]. It is probable that we should also place here the Thyroptera of Spix, which appears to have several cha- racters of the Molossines, and the thumb of which has a little concave palette pccuhar to them (ng. 10, a, .^y which they are enabled to cling more closely. [Several species of this genus agree in possessing this appendage, ' which is proportionally larger in the '^X ^\ As a whole, the group of lilolossmes is ^ ' '■^ extremely distinct and insulated, though consisting of a vast number of species, of which about twenty may be considered established ; six or seven of these ap- pertain to the eastern hemisphere. The largest and most curious of them is D. c/ieiiopus,Tem.{C/iciro7neles, Horsf., fig. U), from Siani, which nioasurea nearly two feet across: it is quite naked, with the exception of an abrupt collar of hairs round the neck. Several have the upper lip laterally pendent (fig. 10), whence the name Molossus or Mastiff; and the term Bi/sopus refers to the toes being more or less tufted with hair. The greater number of species arc from Brazil and Paraguay.] X t/:^ U'' £ Fig. 11.— yjraopuc cbciropusj The Noctules (Nociilio^'-, Lin. Ed. xii.) Muzzle short, inflated, and split into a double hare-lip, marked with odd-looking warts and grooves ; cars separate ; four incisors ahove and two below ; tail short, and [possibly in some] free above the inter- femoral menibraue ; [limbs much elongated, the hinder very large and stout, and furnished with strong claws ; the volar membranes arc attached high npon the back, in some almost meeting dorsally, as in the Ccphalot and some Roussettes.] Tlie most generally known species is from America (Vesp.leporiiiiis, Cm.), of a. uniform fulvous. [Others have been found on the same continent : and Cetewo, Leach, was founded on an imperfect specimen, which is still extant. The Noctules are allied to the true Bats {Vespcrtilio) ; and a group which appears to be somcwliat intcrmedinte, but with a more elongated muzzle, is the Emballonura, Kuhl (Proboscidea, Spix), of which four •pccics liave been described from South America, and a fifth from Java. Pteronotus, Gray, is probably a Noctule, with a longer tuil than usual j and Mij^ptcri.t, Geoff., and also Actio, Leach, do not seem to differ essentially.] The PiiYi.LOSTOMES {Phyllostoma, Cnv. and Geoff.) Tlic regular number of incisors is four to each jaw, but some of the lower ones frequently fall, being forced out by the growth of the canines ; [the second false molar is generally elongated]. Tliey are, niorcovor, distinguished by the inombraue, in the form of an upturned leaf, which is jilaced across tlie end of the nose. The tragus of tlicir car (^fig. 12) resembles a leaflet, more or less iTidcuted. Their tnngne, which is very extensile, is terminated by papilla?, which appear to be arranged so as to form • The !/5 it is full seven tinies. In DcsinofitiSj it ' the first or milk teetli of i?ciwof/«5. 60 Div. 1. YEETEBPvATE ANIMALS— MAMMALIA. Class 1. Two or tliree species are known, of niodeiate but not lai^e size.-' One was taken in the act of sucking- blood from the neck of a Horse, by Mr. Darwin. It is probable that their e.xternal similitude to the Phyllostomts has occasioned the latt.-r to be accused of a sanguivorous propensity, for which their structure seems to be at most but partially adapted, while that of the present g-enus is obviously expressly designed for this mode of life. Compare the figtu-es given of the dentition of the two genera.] In the second grand tribe of Bats, the index has only one bony phalanx, while all the other fingers have two. This tribe also requires to be divided into several subgenera. The Megaderms {Megaderrha, Gcof.) — Have the nasal nicnibranc more complicated than in the Phyllostomes ; the tragus large and most commonly bifurcated ; the couch of the ears very ample, and joined together on the top of the head ; the tongue and the lips smooth ; interfemoral membrane entire, and there is no tail. They have four incisors below, but none above, and their intennaxillaries remain carti- laginous. [Their wings .are remarkably ample, the whole cutaneous system of these animals being excessively de- veloped. Four species are known ; two from Africa, the others from tlie Indian archipelago. One of the former (M. frons, fig. 14) has the body covered with long hair, of most delicately fine texture ; it constitutes the division Lavia of Gray.] They are distinguished by the figiu-e of the leaf, like the Phyllostomes. TheRhinoli'Hines {Rhinolophns, Geof. and Cuv. \_Noctilio Bechst.]), vulgarly termed Ilorse-s/ioe Bafs. These have the nose furnished with very complicated membranes and crests resting on the forehead, and al- together presenting [more or less] the figure of a horse- shoe ; their tail is long, and placed in the interfemoral membrane. They have four incisors below, and two small ones above, fixed in a cartilaginous intermaxillary. Two species are very common in France [and found sparingly and locally in Englandf], — Vesp. ferntm-equinum, Lin., or Rh. lifer, Geof., and Vesp. Mpposidcros, Bechstein. They both inhabit quarries [cathedrals, &c.], where they hang solitarily [?] suspended by tlie feet, and enveloping them- selves with their wings, so that no part of tlieir body is visible. [They difl'cr chieliy in size, but in this con- siderably ; the larger measuring 13 inches across, the other 8i inches. More than twenty species are known, all from the eastern hemisphere. Tliey fall under two divisions, of which the extremes are shown in the acroMipanying representation (fig. 15) ; but the majority are of intermediate character, like tlie two which inhabit Kurope. Those with membranous crests have the tragus distinct, and sometimes considerably developed; the others have no separated tragus, and compose the divisions llijiposiilurof, Gray, (identical with P/iillorhiiin, IJonap.) and AsrtUa, Gray : Aiiteiis of the same systcmatist referring to a member of the former sub-group, whicli is destitute of tail, «nd almost of interfemoral membrane ; charac- ters, however, to which other species approxi- mate. Tlioy inhabit the darkest caverns, in vast multitudes, the sexes and young in separate assemblngcs. Penetrating to more deeply obscure recesses than any of the others, it is probable that their facial appendages are endowed with exquisite sensibility, for the still further extension of that delicacy of the sense of touch, by which others of this family are enabled to guide themselves when deprived of vision : the dryness of those membranes intimates that they are not olfactory. Certain inguinal glands, more or less distinctly developed in these animals, have been erroneously described as mammary teats. F:ij. H. — Mcgatlcrma frons. Fig. IS. — Khinolophus nobilis. R. insijjiiiis • TliiTC U reason to taspcct that the fcnui Deimodui is much more cxtcnkiTcljr rrprcicnted.— £o t A British localitj*. u-hcre both occur ravhpr nunicroasly, is the well-known cave near Torquay, in PcvonsUire, cr.llcd Kcnt't ifoU, OUDER 3. CARXARIA. 61 The Nyctophilets {Nyciophilus, Leach) — Arc, according to Temminck, somewhat intermediate to the Rhinolpliines and the next genua of Nycterins ; approaching the former in the character of their incisors and canines, and the latter in that of their molars : the ears are large and pointed ; the tragus lanceolate ; nasal follicles distinct ■ the tail moderately long, and enveloped in the memhrane. Nyct. GeofTroyi, Leach, is the only known species, from some part of Oceanica. It appears to be allied to the true Bats {Vespertilio), and was included in Barbas/ellics, Gray, as originally constituted.] The Nycterixs (Xi/cteris, Cuv. and Geof.) — Have the forehead furrowed by a longitudinal groove, which is even marked upon the cranium, bordered by a fold of the skin, which partially covers it ; nostrils simple ; four incisors without inter- vals above, and six below ; ears large and separated ; the tail involved in the inter- femoral membrane [and terminated by a bifid cartilage (fig. 16, 2).] They avr African species [for the most part, but o:. inhabits Java. :-'^^, h ■// '( USSfc ^Wi;f- Fig. 16. — Head of Nyclcris javanicua These animals are remarkable for a jjower of inflatin;^ the skin, which is only attached to the body in some few places, by an open cel- lular connexion. There is a small aperture at the bottom of each cheek-pouch, by which this is eflected ; and the nostrils are so formed as to close when at rest, and to open only at will. By respiring with the mouth closed, the air passes through these apertures along' the frontal groove to the upper part of ihe neck, and thence under the skin of the back, chest, and abdomen, which, by a repetition of the process, can be puffed out like a balloon : the intent remains to be explained.] The Rhinopomes {Rhinopoma, Geof.) — Have the frontal depression less marked ; the nostrils at the end of the muzzle, with a little lamina above, forming a kind of snout ; the ears are joined ; and the tail [which is very slender] extends far beyond the interfemoral membrane. [A few species occur on both continents, one of which is figm-ed in the great French work on Egypt, imder the name Taphien filet.'] The Taphiens {Taphozous, Geof.)^- Have also a small rounded indenture on the forehead ; but their nostrils have no raised lamina : the head is pyramidal, and there are only two incisors above, very often none, and four tiilobate incisors below ; their ears are widely separated, and [the tip of] their tail free above the membrane. The males have a transverse cavity under the throat. A little prolongation of the mem- hrane of their wings forms a sort of pouch near the carpus.* One species was discover- ed in the catacombs of JSgyjit by M. Geoflroy [and it is probable that the others are peculiar to the old con- ,. ^ ., , ,^, Fig. 1/. — Mornioops BlainviUil. tinent, though one (Icsp. marsujnalis, MuUer) is said to be American. T. rufus, Harlau (Wils. Am. Orn., vol. vi. pi. 50; is most likely .1 » Hence the came Sacovlcryj-, applied to tliis genas by Uligcr. 62 Div. 1, YERTEBEATE ANIMALS.— IMAMMALIA. Class 1. Vespertilio. The Ej^yptian species is represented to have small eyes ; but that figured by Gen. Hardwicke (Lin. Trans., vol. xiv. p. 525) possesses eyes proportionally as large as in a Squirrel, and we have examined skins of another species (chinchiUa-grey above, pure white bencatli), in which the same character must have been con- spicuous.] The Moumopes (Mormoqps. Leach) — Have four incisors to each jaw, the superior rather large ; the inferior trilobate : their skull (fig. 17) is singularly raised like a pyramid above the muzzle ; and on each side of the nose is a triangular membrane, "uhich extends to the ear. The species M. lilalnvtlUi, Leach, is from Java. [It has since been received, together with two others of the same form (but considered by Gray as separable), from Jamaica; so that the former locality may be presumed to be wrongly assigned.] The ordinary Bats [to Mhich this term may be restricted] {Vespertillo, Cuv. and Geof.) — Have no leaf or other distinctive mark on the muzzle, and the ears separated; four incisors above, of whicli the two middle ones are apart, and six below, sharp-edged, and somewhat notched'^ : theu' tail is comprehended in the membrane. This subgenus is the most numerous of all, and universally distributed. Tliere are sLx or seven species m France [more than double that number. Thirteen have now been met with in England, including the Barbastelle and OreiUard. The sexes and young of several congregate separately.f] • M. Roussean, in a memoir on the anatomj* of f'csp. murinus, •tateii, of the two dentitions of this animal, that the (ir:st is developed before birth, the second not till some time afterwards. The fa'tal teeth, be remarks, arc twenty-two in number ; namely, four incisors, two canines, and four molars to the upper jaw, and six jiieisors, two canines, and four molars to the lower one. The permanent teeth, in the adult, are thirty-ei^'ht in number; of which twenty-two should replace the fa'tal or temporary teeth ; the sixteen others successively •hoTT themselves, later as their position is further backward. The permanent teeth do not wait to appear until their predecessors are shed, whence at a certain epoch forty or fifty tectli, or even more, may be counted in the same individual: this last fact wc have ob- •ervcd in the instance of the common l-'itchct Weasel.— Ep, t To facilitate the researches of the British naturalist, our known Indigenous species may be briefly indicated . it is not unlikely that more remain to be discovered, as but few persons have hitherto be- ■towcd much attention on these lueifugal animals. The british species fall under two natural divisions. In the first, the tragus is more or less rounded at the tip, short, and a little thicUencd in its substance ; there are four pairs of false molars to each jaw. Such arc The Xoctule Bat (T. noctiihi).—Ol a brij^ht rcddish-brown ; the roemhraiie dusky. Lenf^th of the head and body nearly 3 inches : ex- tent 13 or U iiuhcs. Kars uval-tiinngulru-, shorter than the liead ; the tra^s not one-third the lenj^th of the ear, arcuated, and termi- nated in a broad rounded head; muzzle short, broad, and blunt. Thlt species is not uncommon, and is even numerous in some dUtricti : its Hif^lit is lofty, whence destf^nated ultiuol'itts by W^hite. Ilairy-armcd Bat {y.Leitleri), — The fur ionij:, briKht chestnut above, brownish (frcy beneath , under surface of the flying membrane with a broad band of hair ulnng the fore-arm. Length of the head and body 2Vi Inches ; extent IIU inches. The cars ovnl-tri:inguUr, shorter than the head ; tragus barely one-third the length of the ear, terminating to a rounded head. But one BpcclracD is known to have been killed in England. Particoloured Bat (r. rfucofor).— Fur reddish-brown above, witli the tips of the halrt white; beneath, sullied while. Length of the head and body T-x Inches ; extent lOVj inches. Kars about two- thirds the length nf the head, oval, with a projecting lobe on the Inncrmnr^in ; the trngus of nearly equal breadth throughout, rather more than one-third the length of the car. It inhabits towns, and come* abroail early Id the evening. The only native specimen was taken at Plymouth. Plpistrelle Bat (/'. pipU/rrf/wi, erroneously termed /^ murium by British wrilcri till very lately).— TliU small species Is the commonest of any ; It Is dark reddish brown, pater beneath. Length to the tail IVi Inch ; extent 8ti inches. Kars two. thirds the length of the head, oral -tri Angular, notched on the outer margin ; tr.igus nearly half as lung ai the ear, alnioit straight, thickened, obtuse, and rounded at the apex. It runs with celerity, carrying \\.\ bead near the ground, from which It ri'«es with cue; ami iv active during the greater pirt •f the year. The Pyinny ^^^ t^'- J>ys'"'^"h Leach,) is evidently a jonng animal, and probably of this species. Tbc next has only two pain of superior false moUrs. The Serolinc Bat (f'. iero(/MM>). — Fur chestnut-brown above, yel- Uwfth-gre/ beneath. Leo^h of the head and body 2^ inches; ex- tent 121/i inches. The cars oval triangular ; shorter than the head i tragus semiccrdate, little more than one-third the length of the ear. The Serotine frequents uninhabited houses, the roofs of churches, &c. and sometimes hollow trees; flics steadily and rather slow, and iJ occasionally taken near London. In the second group, the tragus is relatively longer, thin, narrow, and more or less pointed ; and there are six pairs of false molars to each jaw. Mouse-coloured Bat {f^. murijius), — The fur reddish-brown above, dull Avhite beneath. Length uf the head and bnilyS^.^i inches ; spread of wing 15 inches. Ears oval, broad at tlie bnsc, becoming narrower towards the apex, as long as the head ; tragus falciform, the inner margin straight, not quite half the length of the ear. This Bat is very common in France and Germany, but only one instauce has been re- corded of its occurrence in Britain. Bcchstein's Bat {F, Bechsteinii) . — Fur reddish-grey above, greyish- white beneath. Dimensions, to the insertion of the tail, 2Vv inches ; 11 inches across. Ears oval, rather longer tha-i the head ; tragus narrow, falciform, not half the length of the ear. The thumb longer than in the others. A woodland siiecies, found occasionally in tbc New Forest, Hants. Fringe-tailed Bat ( /^'. Nattcrcri). — Far brown above, whitish beneath. Lcngtli, to the tail, nearly 2 inches; extent 11 inches. Kars oblong-ovjil, about as long as the bead ; tragus narrow-lanceo- late, nearly two-thirds the length of the car; interfemoral membrane with the margin crenate and stillly ciliated, from the end of the spur or calcancum to the tall. Has been met with in several parts of tlic country. Notch-eared Bat (f. cmarginatus, Geof., not of Jenyns). — Tlie fur reddish-grey above, ash-coloured beneath. Length of the head and body two inches ; extent 9 inches. The ears oblong, as long as the head, with a notch and a small lobe on the outer margin ; tragus awl- shaped, a little cun'cd outward, more than half the length of the ear. One was killed near Dover. Daubcnton's Bat (_('. Dfttibeiitoniif — emarginatu$ of JenjTis). — Fur soft, plentiful, brownish-black at the base ; the surface greyish-red above, ash-grey t)crieath. LtMigtb of the head and body 2 inches ; extent 9 inches. The cars oval, three-fourths the length of the head, very slightly notched on the outer margin, with a fold on the inner margin at the base ; tragus narrow-lanccolatc, rather obtuse, bending a little inward, half the length of the car ; tail longer than the body. Has been taken in several lucalilies, and files rapidly near the ground, or over stagnant water. Whiskered Bat {I', t«75i'.7ei«w.t).— Fur blackish -chestnut above, dusky beneath ; the upper lip furnished with a myustnchc of long fine hair. Length of the head and body 1^ inch ;jexlcntSl!.iiiclies. Ears oblong, bending outward, shorter than the head, notched on the outer margin ; the tragus half the length of the ear, lanceolate, a little c:;- pandcil at the outer margin near the base. Has also occurred iu difTerent parts of the country. The above characters are chiefly compiled from Bell's British (C'»ad rupedii, where figures and minute descriptions are given of c.tCL f^f thcin, tugethcr with full-sized representations of their heads. It v»t be remarked that only the last five are retained in Frfpcrt'iUo by Mi. Gray, the others being included ir. his Scotopfillus.—iLD, Order 3. CAENARIA, G3 M. Geoftroy also separates from the Bats The Oreillards {Plecotus), — Wliicli have the cars longer than the head, and joined above the cranium, as in the Megadcrms, Rhinopomes, &c. orifice. Their tragus is large and lanceolate, and there is an operculum to their auditor^ Fit;. 19. — Plccotiis auritaa. Fii,^. IS. — Ears in" rif;cotU3 auriteS. The common species (T«;j. miritus, Lin.) is still more abundant in France than any of the Bats [and is equally plentiful in England], inhabiting houses, kitchens, &c. Its ears (fig;. 18) are nearly as long as its body [more than double the length of the head; yet, ^vhen rei>osing (as shown in fig. 19), they are folded so as to be out of sight. Its peculiar shufHinggait, with the head raised, is diflerent from that of the Bats with short ears ; and it may be tamed to hover around with famiharity, and alight upon the hand for insect food. The PL brevimanus, Jenyns, is merely the young ; but there are several exotic species.] "We have also another, discovered by Daiibenton, with much shorter ears, [i:ow forming the equivalent division Barbastelle {BarbastcHus, Gray) — The ears of -which are moderate, united at base ; and there ia a hollowed ualced space on tho upper surface of the muzzle, in which the nostrils are situ- ated ; but one pair of false molars to each jaw. ^ B. Daubentonii, Bell, (fig. 20,) IS the only ascertained species. It is of rare occcj- rence in Britain, and measures lOJ inches in extent of wing.] Finally, Ni/cticem*, Ra- fin., [ ScotopJiilus, Leach, P'qnstrellus, Bonap.], with nn. 20.-B.irbaslelins DaubentoDi. cars of medium size, and the simple muzzle of the Bats, has only two iucisors to the upper jaw [which are widely separated, and close to the canines.] It do3s not otherwise differ from Vesjjertilio. The known species are from North America, [but others have since been discovered in the ancient continent, as N. Hcathii, Horsf., from India, and another from Java. Mr. Gray, indeed, includes most of the European Ba'.s in his Scotophilus ; but Tcmminck, who rejects Plecotus even, suggests, and 1 think with reason, that the present also is a superfluous division, based on insufficient characters. The Oreillards and Barbastelles are subordinate to Vespertilio, also Euria, F. Cuv., {Furiptcnis, Bonap.) which has the tail partly cartilaginous, Natalus, Gray, wherein the heel-bone extends the whole length of the interfemoral membrane ; Romicius, Gray, and Miniopterus, Bonap. Atalajilia, Rafin., is said to have no incisors, Hypcxodon, Rafin., to have incisors (of the usual number, six) in the lower jaw only ; Lasiunis has been applied to a small group with the interfemoral membrane hairy ; and, lastly, Pachyotus and Nyctalus, Bowditch, are divisions of no value whatever. It is to be regretted that natm-alists cannot occupy thek time more profitably than in coining supernumerary names. "— «-«ifejj' V • Snmsliiiics •.rrittcn XyctkeJiiS. — ED- G-i Div. 1. YERTEBRATE ANIMALS.— MAISOIALIA. Class 1. iuYOived in the interfemoral membrane. The ^..W'^ Many of the foregoing animals fly with their young extremity cf the tail in some is slightly prehensile. We would remark, here, that the order Primaria, indicated at p. 43, resolves into two primary sections, of which the second is constituted by the Cheiroptera, as opposed to the remainder, or the Bimana and Quadrumana of Cuvier. We regard the Cheiroptera as divisible into two groups only of the value of families, namely, Pteropidce, comprising the frugivorous genera, and Vesper tilionidce, comprehending all the remainder, which may pro- bably be reduced to seven or eight primary divisions. The remains of insectivorous Cheiroptera have been detected in the European tertiary deposits.]* The CoLtJGOS {Gdceopithecus, Pallas) — Difftr generically from the Bats in having their fingers, which are armed with trenchant nails, no longer than the toes, so that the membrane which occupies their intervals, and extends to the sides of the tail, can only officiate as a parachute. Their canines are dentelated, and as short as the molars. They have two [four] dentelated incisors above, very widely apart; six below f, split into narrow strips like a comb, a structure altogether pe- cuhar. These animals live on the trees in the Indian archipelago, and pursue insects, and per- haps birds ; to judge from the detrition wliich their teeth experience with age, they would ap- pear to subsist also upon fruits. They have a large caecum. [Tliis remarkable genus accords chiefly with the Bats in the adaptive structure of its hind extremities, and in the tail being completely attached to iuterfu- moral membrane : the molars, also, are sharply tubep culaten, implying an insectivorous regimen, at IcasJ in part ; but this character is common to several Utrep- sirrliiui ■ there is also a tendency to an opposable power in both the fore and hind thumbs. The general anatomy agrees very closely with that of the Lemurs; one marked feature in which it difl'ers from the Hats is, the presence of a large coecum, as intimated by Cuvier. The orbits of the skull, though raised, are much less approximated than in the Lemurs, and incomplete ; in which respect this genus chiefly devi- ates from the type of the Quadrumana. A parachute membrane occurs, likewise, among the Squirrels and riialangers, only not extending to the tail, as in the present instance; this, therefore,is merely an adaptive character of minor importance. Linnaius designated the only species he knew Lemur volans. "Two species," remarks Temminck, "arc strongly characterized by their osteology ;" which may be pre- sumed to be those provisionally named by Waterhouse G. Temmiiidiii, and C. phitipplncns'ts, both of which are extremely variable in colour. The former is more exten- Bively dilfuscd, and superior in its linear dimensions, but with smaller hands and ears ; its teeth are separated by intcr\a1s, and tlie parietal ridges of the cranium are widely apart : in the latter there are no interspaces between the teeth, wliich arc much stouter and broader; tlie jaw is accordingly much stronger, and to impart ad- (htional vigour to the muscles which operate upon it, the parietal ridges, to which they are attached, almost meet on the occiput. They inhabit lofty trees in dark woods ; to which they cling with all four extremities, and traverse easily by means of their strong and extremely compressed, very hitching claws ; they also leap and float a dis- tance of n hundred yards in an inclined plane, supported by the membrane. They are very inoflensivc animals, BUbsisting in part on the leaves of the nanka, or jack-fruit ; and when captured, do not attempt to bite, as has often mm CI.— CiiliopUl.cous Tcniminckll. * Oar p1i.li nnlr pornilttlut: u« In dim tlioic niilmiils the cliarsctcri of which >vc t.a.c pcr«on..lly a«crliilncd, or from very complete dc«rri|.tln„i anil fiRurcj, »e have licrii obliged to omit several genera of MM. U.fir.c..|uc, I.cach, (lt there is »o frwap of animal* whiih itandi more iu need of reviiiou than tliat of the n.-it3 — a rcA'I.^ioii from Nature, and not from compilatiuD. [Their mutual alTmitics parlicuUrly require elucidation. J t Analof^y with the Lemurs intimates that the exterior of thedc represent the canines.— Ka Order 3. CARNAEIA. 65 been remarked on cutting down the tree to which one was clinging', and seizing it before it could extricate itseli from the branches. They produce generally two young at a birth ; and their cry resembles the low cackle of a Goose.] All the other Carnaria have the mammse situated on the bellv. THE SECOND FAMILY OF CARNARIA,— INSECTIVORA,— Possess, hke the Cheiroptera, grinders beset with conical points, and generally lead a nocturnal or subterraneous life : they subsist principally on insects, and in cold countries most of them pass the winter in a torpid state. They have no lateral membranes, as in the Cheiroptera ; but the clavicles are never absent : their feet are short, and their movements feeble*; the mammse are placed under the abdomen, and the penis in a sheath. None of them have a coecum, and in running they all place the entire sole of the foot upon the ground. They differ in the relative proportions and position of their incisors and canines. Some have long incisors in front, followed by other incisors [along the sides of their narrow jaws], and canines, all shorter even than the molars ; a kind of dentition, of which the Mal- mags, among the Quadrumana, have already afforded an example, and which somewhat approximates these animals to the Rodents : others have large separated canines, between which are placed small incisors, being the ordinary disposition of these teeth both in the Quad- rumana and Carnaria ; and these two systems of dental arrangement occur in genera other- wise very similar in the character of their teguments, in the form of their hmbs, and mode of life. [It is in this group that we are led to identify the canine tooth as simjily the first of the false molars, which in some has two fangs ; and, as in the Lemurs, to perceive that the second in the lower jaw is in some more analogous in size and character to an ordinary canine, than that which follows the incisors. The incisor teeth are never more than six in number, which is the maximum throughout placental Mammalia (as opposed to marsupial) ; and, in several instances, one or two pairs are deficientf: the canines, with the succeeding false molars, are extremely variable J ; but there are ordinarily three tuberculated molars posterior to the repre- sentative of the carnivorous or cutting grinder of the true Carnivora. The snout in the Insectivora is generally elongated.] The Urchins, or Hedgehogs {Erinaceus, Lin.^ — Have the body covered ^^•ith prickles mstead of hairs. The skin of the back is furnished with such muscles that the animal, by inclining its head and feet towards the belly, is enabled to inclose itself as in a purse, presenting only its spines towards an enemy. Their tail is very short, and their feet have each five toes. They possess on each jaw six incisors, of which the middle are the longest ; and on either side three false molars, three bristled true molars, and a small tuberculous tooth. The European Urchin (E. Eitropaus, Lin). — A well known species, common in the woods and hedges. It sub- sists chiefly on insects, but also feeds partly upon fruit, by which at a certain age its teeth become worn : passes the winter in its biurow, whence it issues in the spring with an amplitude and complication of its vesicula semi- nales that is almost incredible. [It produces a variable number of young, sometimes six or seven, which are born with their eyes closed, and, what is remarkable, their ears also : their prickles are then thin, and few in number, white, and at first flexile and disposed backward ; but they soon harden on exposiu^e. The adults remain concealed till the evening, when they run about in search of prey, with an omnivorous appetite ; they devour Toads, and have been known to destroy leverets.] Pallas has noticed as an interesting fact, that the Urchin eats hundreds of Cantharides without experiencing any ill effect, whereas a single one produces horrible agony in a Dog or Cat. (Ten other species are now known, distributed over Asia and Africa, but not Madagascar. Some are of small size, and others have the ears considerably enlarged. • Id Macroscheiidea, the hind feet are lengthened, and announce agility; while the Banxrings are said to be as lively as a Squirrel. — Ed. t The forked incisors of the Shrews appear each to represent two teeth i and the analogiies of the inferior central incisors, wanting in this genus, appear, in Solenodon and Mt/ogatcn, of small si^e, between the representatives of the long dentclated incisors of Sorts, t It should be remarked that a single tooth with two fangs is often represented by two separate teeth, each with one faug. E 66 Div. 1. VERTEBRATE AXIMALS.— MAMMALIA. Class 1. The Sokin*h {Echmops, Martin) — Is a Madagascar animal, which differs chiefly from the Urchins in its dentition, having but four upper incisors, of which the medial are large, and placed before the others ; the superior canines (or what may be designated as such) are tuberculated behind ; there are five molars in all to each side of the upper jaw, longitudinally very short, but broad, a groove passing continuously along their crowns : two small lower canines, three inferior false molars inclining forward, and four true molars obtusely tuberculated. £. Telfairi, Mart., is the only ascertained species ; and the form may be reg^arded as subordinate to Erinaceus.] The Tenrecs {Cenienes, Illiger) — Have the body covered with spines, Uke the Urchins [but more slender and bristle-like] ; they do not, however, possess the faculty of rolling themselves so completely into a ball : they have no tail ; their muzzle is very pointed, and their teeth are very different. On each jaw are from four to six incisors, and two large canines : next follow one or two small teeth, and four triangular molars with sharply tuberculated crowns. They are natives of Madagascar, one species having been naturalized in the Mauritius : are also nocturnal animals, which pass three months of the year in a state of lethargy, although inhabiting the torrid zone. Brugiere even asserts that it is during the greatest heats that they become torpid. [Three if not four species have been ascertained ; one of which, the Tendiac of Buifon {Erinaceiis setosus, lAn.), with six incisors to each jaw, composes the Ericulits of Is. Geoflfroy. The foregoing genera have little or no tail, whereas the following have very long tails.] The Gymnures {Gymnura, Vig. and Horsf. \Echinosorex, Blain.] ) — " Appear to approach the Banxring in dentition, and the Shrews by the pointed muzzle and scaly tail. There are five unguiculated toes to each foot, and tolerably stiff [almost spinous] bristles growing among woolly hair, [resembhng the close fur of the Shrews.] It can only be properly classed when its anatomy is known."* [The general aspect is that of a Tenrec, with a long, naked, and scaly tail. There are sLt incisors to each jaw, the medial above widely separated, large, and resembling canines ; the others lateral, and successively smaller: those below are separated into two pairs, the middle ones being somewhat apart, and one smaller on each side. The canines are moderately large, and somewhat curved, those of the upper jaw having two fangs : next follow, on each jaw, two pairs of small false molars, succeeded by one larger above, and two below ; and the true molars are four in number above and three below, square, and tuberculated as in the Urchin. The only known species (G. Rafflesii) inhabits Sumatra, and is larger than the Urchin of Europe. The various preceding genera have small but not minute eyes. The Macroscelles (^Macroscelides , Smith; Erinomys, Blain.; Rhynomys, Lichst.) — Compose a well-marked genus, somewhat resembling the Shrews, but with large eyes and more elong- ated hind-feet : their fur is long and soft, and of very fine texture. They have six (lateral) incisors to each jaw, minute canines, and on either side five sharply tuberculated molars. Their habits are diurnal, and tliey retreat into burrows or beneath stones on apprehension of danger. Ei(?lit species are known, all from South Africa except one, which inhabits Algiers. They are called Elephant Uice in the Cape Colony.] The Banxrings {Tiipaia, Raff. ; Cladohates, Fr. Cuv. IGlisorex; Diard. ; Hyhgale, Tern.] ),— A genus lately characterized, from the Indian Archipelago, the teeth of which bear some resemblance to those of the Urchins, only that their middle superior incisors are pi oportionally shorter, and there are four to the lower jaw, more elongated, [and projecting forwards as in the Lemurs] ; they also [do rot] want the tuberculous tooth behind. These animals are covered with hair [soft and glistening, but not fine in texture], and have a long bushy tail ; and, contrary to the habits of other JnsecHvora, they ascend trees with the agility of a Squirrel, but their pointed muzzle renders them easily distin- • Fro.ii the Ayf endiz to the author't edition.— En. Order 3. CARNARIA. 67 guishable, even at a distance. [The general form is not unlike that of the Marsupial genus Myrme- cobius : and the bony orbits of the cranium are sometimes complete. Three species are known, the T. tana, sumatrana, and ferruginea, all of which are well characterized by differ- ences in the conformation of the cranium, in addition to external distinctions ; they inhabit trees, and are lively and active animals.* All the remaining genera have minute eyes.] The Shrews (Sorex, Lin.) — Are generally small, and covered with [soft] hair. Under this, on each flank, there is a band of stiflF, closely-set bristles, from between which, during the rutting season, exudes an odorous fluid, the product of a peculiar gland. Their two middle superior incisors are hooked, and dentated at the base ; the lower ones slanting and elongated : five small teeth follow on each side the first, and only two the second. There are besides, on each jaw, three bristled molars, and finally on the upper one a small tuberculous tooth. These animals retire to holes they burrow in the ground, which they scarcely leave till towards the evening, and subsist on worms and insects. [We have observed them to be much about during the day, under shelter of close herbage, where their sibilant and iusect-like cry notifies their presence, and have occasionally seen them venture forth from cover when all was quiet. t M. Duvernoy discovered that their incisors occupy, from the first, the position they maintain in after-life, but are enveloped for a while by the periostaum or investing membrane of the bone to which they are attached, through which the larger protrude some time before the others : he accordingly infers that these animals have no milk-teeth. The same naturalist divides this genus into 1. Sorex, Duv. (Crodrfwra, Wagl. ; including J/yo«o/-e.r, Gray); wherein the edge of the long inferior incisors is unserrated ; that of the upper notched, or with the spur appearing as a point behind ; the small lateral teeth which follow are three or four in number, and diminish rapidly in size from the first to the last ; none of the teeth being coloured. The ears are conspicuously developed, and the tail has always longer and coarser hairs mingled with the ordinary short ones. This group, which is very distinct, comprises all the numerous extra-European species, together with three ('80chlore (Talpa asiatica, Lin. [now better known as C capensis, Desm.)]. — Rather smaller than our Moles, without apparent tail. It is the only known quadruped which presents any appearance of those splendid metallic reflections which adorn so many birds, fishes, and insects. Its fur is of a green, changing to copper or bronze : the ears have no conch, and the eyes are not perceptible.f It inhabits Africa, and not Siberia, as falsely reported. [There are three others, C. Hottentota, Damarensis, and villosa, all from the same general locaUty.] The Moles {Talpa, Lin.) — Are well known for their subterraneous hfe, and for their structure eminently qualified in adaptation to it. A very short arm, attached to a large shoulder-blade, supported by a stout clavicle, and provided with enormous muscles, sustains an extremely large hand, the palm of which is always directed either outwards or backwards : the lower edge of this hand is trenchant, and the fingers scarcely perceptible, but the nails which terminate them are long, flat, strong, and sharp. Such is the instrument which the Mole employs to tear open the ground, and throw back the mould behind it. Its sternum possesses, in common with that of Birds and Bats, a ridge which allows the pectoral muscles to attain the mag- nitude requisite for the performance of their functions. To pierce and raise up the ground, it makes ■ I lus nnmobeinf; preoccupied by a genus oJ Spiders, Fischer has HlUTcd ii to Myogalea.— Ed. t The Hed Mo.c of America, fttba I. pi. xxxU. fig. 1, (Talpa rutirn, I.ln ), la most probably a Cape Chrysochlore, floured from ■ dried »pcciiaei>, (ur then the fur tppeart purple. (It ia more likely the Scalops canadensis.] Kut the Tucan of Fernandez, re- garded as one of Its synonymes, appears rather, to judge from its two long teeth to each jnw, and vegetable regimen, to be some subterraneous rodent, perhaps a Dlplostoma. Order 3. CARNARIA. 69 use of its long, pointed head, the extremity of its muzzle heing provided with a peculiar little bone, and the cervical muscles being extremely powerful. There is even an additional bone in the cervical hga- ment. The hinder part of the body is feeble, and the animal above ground advances as awkwardly as it does rapidly below the surface. Its sense of hearing is extremely acute, and the tympanum very large, although there is no external ear; but the eyes are so small, and so hidden beneath the hair, that their existence even was denied for a long while. [They have been ascertained, however, to be tolerably sharp-sighted.] The genital organs have this peculiarity^ that the bones of the pubis do not become joined ; by reason of which, notwithstanding the narrowness of the pelvis, they are enabled to produce tolerably large young ones : the urethra of the female passes through the cUtoris : she has six teats. The jaws are feeble, and the food consists of insects, worms, and some tender roots, [chiefly, however, worms, though even small birds are sometimes sncrificed to their voracity, when they can dart upon them from the entrance of their nms]. There are six incisors above and eight below.* The canines have two roots, in wMch respect they pa,rtake of the nature of false molars f : behind them are four false molars above, and' three below ; and finally, three bristled molars. [The fur is set vertically in the skin, whence it has no grain or particular direction.] Our common European Mole (T. Europaa, Lin.)— Entirely black, but often varying- to white, fulvous, or pied. [A most rehiarkabie. animal, not only for the ardour of its passions, appetites, and emotions, but for the curious instincts with which it is endowed, more particularly with regard to the complicated regularity of its subterraneous dweUing and galleries.] According to M. Harlan, this species likewise exists in North America [or, at any rate, there is a species stated to be from that continent most closely allied to it, of which the Zoological Society of London possess specimens.] M. Savi has found a Mole in the Apennines said to be quite blind, although otherwise similar to the common one (the T. cceca, Sav.) : it is not, however, perfectly blind, for the eyelids have an opening, though smaller than in the common Mole. Th€ existence of the optic nerve in this last species has been denied : I tliink I can demonstrate it throughout its course. [Two other species are known, T.jpipotiica and T. moogura.] The Condylures {Condylura, Illig.)> — Seem to combine the two kinds of dentition of the hisecfivora .- their upper jaw has two large trian- gular incisors, two others which are extremely small and ^lender, and upon each side a strong canine ; the lower jaw ha:s four incisors slanting forward, and a pointed canine of small size. Their superior false molars are triangular, and separated ; the lower dentelated and trenchant. In their feet and whole exterior, the animals of this genus resemble the Moles, but have a longer tail, and, what very readily distinguishes them, their nostrils are encircled with small moveable cartilaginous points, which, when they separate, radiate hke a star. [Tliree or four species are now known, all from North America. Among them is] Sorex cristaius, Lin. The Shrew-moles (Scalops, Cuv.) — Have teeth rather similar to those of the Desmans, except that their small or false molars are less numerous ; the muzzle is simply pointed, as in the Shrews ; and their hands are widened, armed vrith strong nails, and in short adapted for digging into the ground precisely as in the Moles, which they entirely resemble in their mode of life. Their eyes are equally small, and their ears concealed in the same manner. Sorex aquaticus, Lin.— Appears to inhabit a very great part of North America, along the rivers : externally, it so nearly resembles the European Mole as to be readily mistaken for it. [Tliree other species, from the same general locality, have been recently discovered. The Insectivora, according to the views of De Blainville, should constitute an entirely distinct order, intermediate to the Cheiroptera and Edentata. They present an almost unbroken series of successively distinct divisions, more or less allied to"-ether. The most definite super-generic section is that composed of the four genera last in order, or the various animals analogous to the European Mole. At the other end of the series, the spinous genera, at first sight, appear equally separated ; but they certainly grade through Centenes and then Gymnura to the Shrews, which are again related to the Talpidcs; if, indeed, the line of separation should not be drawn between Centenes, and Erinaceus and Echinops : the * Were this truly the case, it would be an anomaly throughout pla- cental Mammalia : but as the lower canines, as thus assigned, close within the upper, we are led to identify the exterior pair of seeming incisors as the real canines.— Ed. t There is no essential difference between canines and false motarg. See p. 65.— Ed. 70 Div. 1. VERTEBRATE ANIMALS.— MAI^IMALIA. Class 1. different generic groups, however, maintain their integrity. Macroscelides and Tupaia are tlie least conformable with the others ; but neither are these much removed in their more essential characters. As a whole, they compose a very natural and appreciable di\'ision, and our author assigns them a rank equivalent to the Cheiroptera on the one hand, and to the Carni- VORA, comprising his Plantigrada, Digitigrada, and Amphibia, on the other. Remains of three species of Sorex, one of Talpu, and one of Erinaceus, have been found in the European Tertiary deposits, apparently referable to species still in existence. The present range of the di\'ision does not extend to South America* nor Australia, where, however, it appears to be adequately represented by the numerous small Marsupiata, peculiar to those regions ; a curious fact, first noticed by Waterhcuse, and since by De Blainvillc] THE THIRD FAMILY OF CARNARIA. CARNIVORA. Although the designation carnivorous is applicable to all unguiculated Mani»nalia, except the Quadrumana, which have three sorts of teeth, inasmuch as they all subsist more or less on animal matter, there are nevertheless many, more especially of the two preceding families, which are reduced by the feebleness and the conical tubercles of their grinders to prey almost entirely on insects. In the present family, the sanguinary appetite is combined with the force necessary for its gratification. There are always four stout and long separated canines, between which are six incisors to each jaw, of which the second inferior are inserted a little more inward than the rest. The molars are either wholly cutting, or have some blunted tuberculous parts, but they are never studded with sharp conical projections. These animals are the more exclusively carnivorous, in proportion as their teeth are more completely trenchant or cutting, so that the degree of admixture of their regimen may be almost calculated from the extent of the tuberculous surface of their teeth, as compared with the cutting portion. The Bears, which can hve altogether on vegetables, have nearly all their teeth tuberculated. The anterior molars are the most trenchant ; next follows a molar, larger than the others, which has usually a tuberculous projection, differing in size ; and then follow one or two smaller teeth, that are entirely flat. It is with these small hindward teeth that the Dog chews the herbage that he sometimes swallows. We will call, with M. F. Cuvier, this large upper molar, and its corresponding one below, carnivorous teeth ; the anterior pointed ones, false molars, and the posterior blunt ones, tuberculous molars. It is easy to conceive that the genera which have fewer false molars, and of which the jaws arc shorter, are consequently better adapted for biting. Upon these diflTerences the genera can be most surely established. The consideration of the hind-foot, however, must also be attended to. Several genera, like those of the two preceding famihcs, in walking, place the whole sole of the foot on the ground, a circumstance [generally] indicated by the absence of hair on all that part.f Others, and by far the greater number, rest on only the ends of the toes, elevating the tarse. Their gait is more rapid, and to this primary difference are added many others of habit, and oven of internal conformation. In both, the clavicle is a mere bony rudiment suspended in the muscles. The Plantigrada Constitute this first tribe, which walk on the whole sole of the foot, a circumstance which gives them greater facility of standing upright upon their hind-feet. They partake of the slowness • Sore* lTi$lrialnio( lome ol the old nulhort ii k true DidelphU. 1 with hnir : the 9«mc is observuble in some Martens ; wUUe other, of *-'^'** I this i^enun have the sole attogether naked, — Eo. t [n the PoUr Hear, and Panda, the « ile ii completely coveted I IX. BEARS o ^ .,.- ///'' Arcnr Beai' Order 3. CARNARIA. and nocturnal life of the Insectivora, and, like them, have no ccecum : most of those which inhabit cold countries pass the winter in a state of lethargy. All have five toes to each foot. The Bears (Ursus, Lin.) — Possess three large molars on each side of both jaws*, altogether tuberculous, and of which the poste- rior above are the most extended. These are preceded by a tooth a little more trenchant, which is the carnivorous tooth of this genus f, and by a variable number of very small false molars, which sometimes fall at an early age. This system of dentition, almost frugivorous, explains why, notwithstanding their great strength, the animals of this genus devour flesh only from necessity. They are large stout-bodied animals, vrith thick limbs, and tail extremely short : the cartilage of their nose is elongated and moveable. They excavate dens and construct huts [?], where they pass the winter in a state of somnolency more or less profound, and without taking food. It is in these retreats that the female brings forth. The species are not easily distinguished by obvious characters. The Brown Bear(J7. arctos, Lin.) of Europe, has the forehead convex : fur, brown, more or less woolly when young, becoming- smoother with age. It varies, however, considerably in colour, and also in the relative propor- tion of parts: the young have generally a pale collar, which in some is permanent. This animal inhabits the high moimtains and extensive forests of Europe, together with a great part of Asia. [The Barren-ground Bear of North America appears to be undistinguishable.] It couples in June, and brings forth in January ; nestles sometimes very high up in trees ; its flesh is good eating when young, and the paws are much esteemed at all ages. [The Black Bear of Europe is now generally regarded as a mere variety.] The Black Bear (U. amerieanug, Gm.) of North America, is a species well distinguished, with a flat forehead, smooth and black fiir, and fulvous muzzle. We have always found the small teeth behind its canines to be more numerous than in the Bear of Europe. It lives chiefly on wild fruits, and where fish is abundant sometimes frequents the shores for the purpose of catching it ; resor*s to flesh only in default of other food, [and is then destructive to Pigs ; is a great devourer of honey, in common with most others of the genus] : its flesh is highly esteemed. There is another Black Bear found in the Cordilleras, with white throat Fis. 24.--nie Black Bear. and muzzle, and large fulvous eye-brows {U. or- natus, F. Cuv.), [considered by many to be a variety of U. amerieanits. The Jardin des Plan/es, however, has lately received a Bear from the Peruvian Andes, which appears very distinct : colour of U. arctos, with larger ears. The gigantic Grisly Bear (U. ferox), now a well-known species, from the Rocky Mountains of North America, is the most formidable of all the land Bears, and by much the largest. It can only ascend trees, as the others do, when young. It constitutes the ill-characterized subgenus Danis of Gray. The Syrian Bear (U. st/riactts) is of a fulvous white coloiir, with a stiff mane of close erected hairs be- tween the shoulders. The species which inhabits the Atlas chain of mountains remains to be ascertained.] The East Indies produce several Bears of a black colour ; such as The Malayan Bear ( U. malayamis) ; from the peninsula beyond the Ganges to the islands of the Straits of Sunda. — Sleek [with comparatively short fur], a fulvous muzzle, and heart-shaped mark of the same colour upon the chest. [This, and another species, or perhaps variety, (J7. eun/spilus,) with the whole chest fulvous, from Borneo, consti- tute the division Helarctos of Horsfield, or the Sun Bears. They are small, and of very gentle and playful dispo- sition, easily rendered quite tame.] It is very injurious to the cocoa-nut trees, which it climbs in order to devour the tops, and drink the milk of the fruit. The Thibet Bear (U. thiheticus, F. Cuv.)— Black ; the under lip, and a large mark in the form of a Y on the breast, white ; profile straight and claws weak. [Is intermediate to the preceding and next species.] From the mountains in the north of India. The most remarkable, however, of aU these Indian Bears is the following, of which lUiger forms his genus Prochilus. • We shall no longer repeat the words on each side^ &c. ; It hein^ understood that where the molars of one side are spoken of, those of the other correspond. t Although it may seem presumptuous to attempt to set Cuvier ri£-ht in matters of this kind, it is nevertheless sulBcientlv obvious, on analogical comparison of the Bear*ii dentition with that of proximate genera, that the third tooth in succession from behind represents the cuttinff or carnivorous tooth in each jaw, there being; two tuberculous ^nders in this and the five succeedintr eenera (which togerher com pose a distinct natural |,roup), and one only in the remainder. — Ed. 72 Div. 1. YEETEBRATE ANIMALS.— MAMMALIA. Class 1. Fi^. 25. — The Jungle Bear. The Jungle Bear (U. lahiatus, Blainv. : U. lotigirostris, Tied : Bradypits ursimis, Shaw), which has the nasal cartilage dilated, and the tip of the under lip elongated, both lips being moveable : when old, very long shaggy hairs surround the head. The muzzle and tips of the paws are fulvous or whitish, and there is a half-collar or Y-like marking on the fore-neck and cheek. [The incisors of this species geneially drop at an early age.] It is a favourite with the Indian jugglers on account of its uncouth appearance. M. Horsfield describes another Bear from Nipal of a light bay colour, the nails of which are less trenchant than those of the other Bears of India, aiid which appears to him a distinct species. We have also recovered many fossil bones of lost spe- cies of Bears ; the most remarkable of which are U. spehexs, Blumenb., with a rounded forehead, and of very large size ; and U. cultridejis, Cuv., for which see the fourth vol. of my Ossemens Fos- siles : [another extinct species (C. sivalensis, Caut. and Falc), has been detected in the Si^-alik deposits of the sub-Himmalayas.] Lastly, The Polar Bear (Ursus maritbmis, Lin.), is yet another species, very distinctly characterized by Its lengthened and flat head, and by its smooth and white fur. It pursues Seals and other marine animals [on the polar ice, but in captivity will thrive, like the rest, on vegetable food only. It is'the largest of the genns,] and exaggerated reports of its voracity have rendered it very celebrated. [It constitutes the Ttialarctos of Gray.] The Raccoons (Procyon, Storr.) — Have three tuberculous back molars [the first representing the carnivorous tooth], of which the superior are nearly square, and three pointed false molars before them, forming a continuous series to the canines, which are straight and compressed. Their tail is [moderately] long ; but the rest of their exterior is that of a Bear in miniature. They rest the whole sole of their foot on the ground only when they are still, raising the heel when they advance. [Are peculiar to the western continent.] Tlie Common llaccoon (Ursus lotorfXAxi.; Mapach of the Mexicans.) — Greyish brown; the muzzle white; a brown streak across the eyes : tail annulated with brown and white rings. An animal the size of a Badger, which is easily tamed, and remarkable for a singular instinct of eating nothing that it has not previously dipped in water. It is a native of Xortli America, and subsists on eggs, birds, &c. The Crab-eating Raccoon (7'. cancrivonis, Bufl'. Snpp. vi. xxxii.) — Uniform ash-brown ; the caudal rings less distinct. From South America. [Three others have been described by Prof. Wiegmann, (see Ann. Nat. Hist. 1. 133), of wliich P. Ilcrnandrii, Wagler, would appear to be dubiously separable from P. lotor.'] The Panda {Ailurus, F. Cuv.) — Appears to approximate the Raccoons by its canines and what is known of its other teeth ; except that it has only one false molar. " Gen. Hardwicke has since described it to have four square tuberculous molars, and one trenchant false molar in front, at a short distance from the canine." The head is short ; tail [rather] long ; gait plantigrade, the toes five in number, ^vith half-retractile nails. Only one is known, the Bright Panda {A. refulgens, F. Cuv.)— Size of a large Cat ; the fur soft and thickly set : above of the richest cinnamon-red ; behind more fulvous, and deep black beneath. The head is whitish, and the tail annulated with brown. This beautiful species, one of ..^'Hi^f^-^'^Ji-^^ ''W.f-r„ the handsomest of known quadrupeds, from the moun- tains of the north of India, was sent to Europe by my late son-in-law, IM. Alfred du Vaucel. [It frequents the vicinity of rivers and mountain torrents, passes much of its time upon trees, and feeds on birds and the smaller quadrupeds. Is generally discovered by means of its loud cry or call, which resembles the sound wha, often repeated. The soles of its feet are hairy.] THEBiNTCRONGs(/c^j-c;;c/w,Tem.) Are also related to the Raccoons by their denti- tion ; but the tliree superior back molars are considerably smaller, and less tuberculous, the Last one of f.ich jaw more particularly, wliich is very small and almost simple. These animals are Fig. 23.— .\ilurus ful^cns. Order 3. CAENARIA. 73 covered with long hair, and have a tuft at each ear. The tail is long, hairy, and has a propensity to curl, as if prehensile ; [which it really is : their whiskers are long and conspicuous]. They are also natives of India, for the first knowledge of which we are indebted to M. du Vaucel. One species (let. albifrons, F. Cuv.) is grey, with the tail and ;sides of the muzzle black ; of the size of a large Cat ; from Boutan. Another {let. ater, F. Cuv.) is black, with a whitish muzzle, and as large as a stout Dog ; from Malacca. [The latter is merely the male, and the other the female of the same species, which is rather a slow-moving animal, allied to the last in habit, of a timid disposition, and easily tamed. The Ictide doree, F. Cuv., is a species of Musang {Paradoxurus). ] The Coatimondis {Nasua, Storr), — To the dentition, tail [wliich however is longer], nocturnal life, and slow dragging gait of the Raccoons, add a singularly elongated and moveable snout. Their feet are semi-palmate, notwith- standing which they climb trees [with great facility, and descend them head foremost, clinging by their liind feet, which they almost reverse]. Their long claws serve them to dig with ; [and they feed voraciously on earth-worms, slugs and snails, also on small mammalians (which they catch adroitly), birds and their eggs, together with fruits and vegetables]. They inhabit the warm parts of America, and subsist on nearly the same food as our Martens. The Red Coatimondi (Viverra nasua, Lin. ; N. rufa, Desm.) — Rufo-fulvous, the muzzle and caudal annulations brown. And the Brown Coatimondi (V. nariea, Lin. ; N.fiisca, Desm.)— Brown, with white spots over the eye and snout. [These animals employ their claws to divide flesh, which they thus tear and separate before devour- ing it.] The Kinkajou (Cercolepfes, Illiger) — Can scarcely be introduced elsewhere than in this place [which is unquestionably its true position]. To the plantigrade gait, it joins a very long tail, prehensile, as in the Sapajous*, a short muzzle, slender and extensile tongue, with two pointed grinders before, and three tuberculous ones backward, [the first of which latter represents the carnivorous tooth]. But one species is known (Viverra eandivolvula, Gm.), from the warm parts of America and some of the Great Antilles, where it is named Potto f : size of a Fitchet, [and larger] ; the fur woolly, and of a yellowish [or golden] brown : nocturnal, and of a mild and gentle disposition ; subsisting on fruits, houey, milk, blood, &c. [It is emi- nently an arboreal quadruped, which moves with a cautious gait, recalling to mind some of the Quadrumana. There is a Mexican animal to which Lichtenstein has assigned the generic name Bassaris, and which Blainville and others have associated with the Viverrine genera, but wliich I greatly suspect must rather be placed near the Kinkajou, though I have not at present the means of ascertaining its cha- racters. In form it is not unlike a Musang {Paradoxurus.) % The remaining genera are only semi-plantigrade (that is, tliey do not bring the heel quite to the ground), and possess but one tuberculous grinder, which varies greatly in extent of surface : none of them become torpid in winter ; and they all emit, when alarmed, a defensive odour, which in many is horribly fetid.] The Badgers {Meles, Storr), § — Which LinnsEus placed, together with the Raccoons, in his genus of Bears, have one very small tooth behind the canine, then two pointed molars, followed in the upper jaw by one which we begin to recognize as carnivorous, from the trace of a cutting character which it exhibits on its outer side ; behind this is a square tuberculous tooth, the largest of the series ; and, on the lower jaw, the last but one likewise commences to bear some resemblance to the inferior carnivorous tooth ; but as there are two tubercles on its inward border as elevated as its cutting point, it performs the office of a tuberculous one ; the last below is very small. [The Badger, in fact, has precisely the same den- tition as the Weasels and Otters, presenting a modification of that type for less carnivorous regimen.] These animals have the tardy gait and nocturnal habit of aU the preceding ; their tail is short, [and * One which I had an opportunity of studying, as it ran about loose in a room, possessed the prehensile power of the tail in an extremely moderate de^ee, merely resting slightly ou this organ, which it stiffened tlvroughout its length, and never coiled in the manner of the Sapajous. — Ed. t Thi-s term, applied by the negroes in Africa to a I.emnrine animal [Perodicticus), iiat oeen introduced by them, and misapplied in other countries — Ed. t Strong presumptive evidence that the Basset {Bassaris) does not appertain to the Viverrine group, is afforded by the restriction of the geographic range of the latter to the eastern hemisphere, iij every other instance. The presence or absence of a ccecum would decide the question. § Tnjim of some systematists : but this name is employed in Botany for the Yew genus. — Kd. 74 Div. 1. VERTEBRATE ANIMALS.— MAMMALIA. Class 1. Fig. 25.— Common Badger. commonly held erect]. Their toes are much enveloped in the skin ; and, what eminently distinguishes them, is a pouch situate beneath the tail, from which exudes a fatty, fetid humour, [as in the Skunks, "Weasels, &c., to which the Badgers are very closely allied]. The long claws of their fore-feet enable them to burrow with much facility. 'fhe European Badg'er (Ursus meles, Lin.; M, taxtis, Auct.) — Greyish above, beneath black, with a dusky band on each side of the head. That of America (Mel. hudsomiis [ (?) M. labradorius, Sa- bine; Ursus taxus, Schreb.] does not appear to differ essentially. [It is even generically very dis- tinct, pertainin^^ to the next division. A second species of Badger, however, appears to me to ex- ist in the Balysaur of India (Arctonyx coUaris, F. Cuv. ; Mydaus collaris, Gray,) which M. F. Cuvier has represented much too Hog-bke in his figure ; the snout being scarcely longer than that of the European Badger, the fur somewhat coarser, and the tail (which almost reaches the ground) not so scantily covered with hair as stated.* A cranium figured as that of the Balysam- by Mr. Gray, in his published series of Gen. Hardwicke's drawings, appears to me to indicate another species, distinguished by the long vacant interspace between the inferior canine and first existing molar. This genus would seem to be peculiar to the eastern continent. The Taxels {Taxidea, Waterh.) — Are the reputed Badgers of America, but which present a very different cranium, and more carnivorous dentition : their cutting molar is increased, and the tubercular reduced, to an equal size ; the latter having a triangular crown : skull widest at the occiput, where it is abruptly truncated ; the auditory bullae much developed; and articulating surface of the lower jaw ex- tended, but not locking as in the Badgers. Their claws are longer and stouter, enabling them to burrow mth great rapidity. One only is clearly ascertained, the T. lahra- doria (Ursus taxus, Schreb.) Remarkable for the fine quality of its fur. Dr. Richardson has taken a Marmot fiom the stomach of this animal. The Bharsiah (Ursotaxtis, Hodgson). Four cheek-teeth above and below, com- prising two superior and three inferior false molars ; the tubercular of the upper jaw transverse, and smaller than the carnivorous tooth. General conformation similar to that of the Badger, but without external ears. But one species is known (iV. inauritus, Hodg., Asiai. Res. xix. 60, and Journ. As. Soc. v. G21), from the vicinity of Wpk\, scantily covered with coarse hair. It is completely plantigrade and fossorial, dwelling in bur- rows on the southern slopes of the hills, which it seldom leaves during the day.] The Wolverines {Gulo, Storr) — Have also been placed in the Bear genus by Linnjeus ; but they rather approxitnatc the Martens in their dentition and general character, according only with the Bears in their plantigrade gait. They have three false molars above, and four below, anterior to the carnivorous tooth, which is well cha- racterized ; and behind this a small tubercular, which is wider than long. Their upper carnivorous tooth has but one small internal tubercle, so that they have nearly the same dental system as the Fig. SS.— Taxel. • Thrrc i» n f.)jwTr, in ni-wir-Vfi Qii,i(trupriti, apparently of this j Tower Mrnacprie. The description intimates its near re»emblanre fpttie*, lalien from a «eemlnel7 nnhcallliy imlividuiil (.oiifincd in the | to tlie tonunon Badger. ii> Order 3. CARNAIIIA. Martens. These animals have the tail of middle length, with a fold beneath it in place of a pouch ; and their foot is very similar to that of a Badger. The most celebrated species is the Glutton of the north, Rossomdk of the Russians (Vrsug gulo, Lin.) ; size of a Badger, and commonly of a fine deep maroon colour, with a browner disk on the back ; but sometimes it is paler. It inhabits the glacial regions of the north, is reputed to be very sanguinary and ferocious, hunts by night, does not become torpid during the winter, and subdues the largest animals by leaping upon them from a tree. Its voracity has been absurdly exaggerated by some authors. The Wolverine of North America (Umus lusciis, Lin.) does not appear to differ by any constant characters, but is generally of a paler tint. [Excepting in size and massiveness, I cannot perceive that this animal differs from the Martens : assuredly it does not in the structure of its feet.] Warm climates produce some species which can only be placed near the Wolverines, from which they differ merely in having one false molar less to each jaw, and by a longer tail. Such are the animals termed by the Spanish inhabitants of North America Ferrets (Hiirons), and which in point in fact have the dentition of our Ferrets and Weasels, and lead the same kind of life ; but they are distinguished by their semi-plantigrade carriage, [or rather by having their soles uncovered with hair]. Such are The Orison (Viverra vittata, Lin.)— Black, the top of the head and neck grey, a white band reaching from the forehead to the shoulders. [Tliis constitutes the Grisonia, Gray, and with an allied species, le petit furet of Azzara (Galictis Allamandi, Bell), the Galictis* of the last-named naturalist, who places them contiguous to the Weasels. They are small animals, easily rendered very tame, and extremely playful in domestication ; of very carnivorous disposition, and particularly fond of eggs.] The Taira (MusteJa Barbara , Lin.) [Subdivision Taira of Gray.]— Bro^vn [or brownish-black] ; the head grey ; [and sometimes] a large white spot under the throat. [The fur remarkably short.] These two animals are distributed throughout the warm parts of America, and exhale an odour of musk. Their feet are a little palmated, and it appears that they have been sometimes taken for Otters. f [We conceive that the Wolverine might be advantageously removed to the genus of Martens; and would restrict the term Gulo to the others. The Grisons diffuse when irritated a disgusting stench.l The Ratels {Mellivara, F. Cuv.) — Have a false molar to each jaw still less than the Grisons, and their \ipper tuberculous tooth but little developed, so that they approximate the Cats in dentition ; but their whole exterioi; is that of the Grison, or [rather] of a Badger. The legs are short ; feet [semi-] plantigrade, and five toes to each ; the claws very strong, &c. But one species is known (Viverra mellivora, Sparm., and Viv. capensis, Schreb. pi. 125), of the size of the European Badger ; grey above, black below, with a white Une that separates the two colours ; sometimes it is almost wholly white above. It inhabits the Cape of Good Hope, and burrows into the ground with its long claws, in search of the honey-combs of the wild Bees. The Digitigrada — Form the second tribe of Carnivora, the members of which walk on the ends of their toes. In the first subdivision of them [all the members of which ai'e semi-plantigrade], there is only one tuberculous grinder behind the upper carnivorous tooth : these animals, on account of the length of their body, and shortness of the limbs, which permit them to pass through very smaU openings, are styled vermiform [vermin]. They are destitute of ccecum, like the preceding, but do not pass the winter in a state of lethargy. Although small and feeble, they are very sanguinary and ferocious. Linnaeus comprehended them all under one genus, that of Thk Weasels {Mustela, Lin.), — Which we will divide into four subgenera. The True Weasels {Putorius, Cuv. [Mustela, Ray.] ) — Are the most sanguinary of any : their lower carnivorous tooth has no internal tubercle, and the upper tuberculous one is broader than long ; there are only two false molars above and three below. These animals may be recognized by having the extremity of the muzzle somewhat shorter and blunter than in the Martens. They all diffuse [when alarmed] a fetid stench ; [take the water, and dive with facility, having the toes semipalmated ; trace their prey by scent, and kill it by inflicting a wound in the neck : the female is commonly much smaller than the male. • This must Tiol be confounried with the Galictin of Is. GeofTroy , t It is supposed from the descripllon given by Marcffreave of his (Co»npff r?nd«, Oct. 1837), which refers to the Mustela or Putorius I Crtri^MfiA/'if/, which name Buffon has applied to his Saricofiewreff, ToK Mtriatui of Cuvier.— Ed. 1 xiii. p. 319, that he meant to spealt of the Taira. 76 Div. 1. VEETEBRATE ANIMALS.— MAMMALIA. Class 1. Fig. 27.— The Marten. There are very many species, three of which inhabit Britain .—The Fitchet Weasel, or Polecat, of which the Ferret appears to be a domesticated variety* ; the Stoat, or Ermine, which in cold countries (and occasionally even in South Britain) becomes pure white in winter, except the end of its tail, which always continues black ; and the Common Weasel, of diminutive size, which preys chiefly on Mice and other small animals injurious to the agricul- turist. It is a curious fact that in several instances the female Polecat has been known to stow away many Frogs and Toads in an apartment of its burrow, disabling each without killing it, by puncturing the skull. The Common Weasel traverses the boughs of trees, tops of palings, &c., with facihty, and will spring from the ground upon a Partridge flying near the surface. Put. striatus, Cuv., a small Madagascar species, reddish-brown, with five longi- tudinal white stripes, composes the division Galictis of Isidore Geoff"roy (not of Bell) ; and Pttt. ZoriUa, Cuv., a species marked with broken stripes of white, and possessing a more snout-like muzzle, the tail of which also is longer and more bushy, is the Zorilla capensis of some recent authors : there would appear, indeed, to be severa. species of these Zorilles.] The Martens {Mmtela, Cuv. \_Martes, Ray] ) — Differ from the true Weasels by having [commonly] an additional false molar above and below, and a small tubercle on the inner side of their car- nivorous tooth ; two characters which some- what diminish the ferocity of their nature, [They are handsome, and remarkably hthe active animals, with larger ears than the M'easels, and fine bushy tails ; are also more arboreal in their habits. The scent they diffuse when irritated is not disagree- able, t] There are two species in Europe, very closely allied together. The Yellow-breasted or Pine Marten (Mustela martes, Lin.), inhabiting wild districts, and the White-breasted or Beech Marten (M. foina, Lin.), which frequents woods near human habitations. [Many consider these to be varieties merely of the same ; but on examining several crania, I have noticed that the former are constantly smaller, with the zygomatic arch fully twice as strong as in the other. Tlie American species usually deemed identical with M. foina, is intermediate. There are numerous others, as the Pekan or Fishing Marten of Canada, &c. ; and the Sable of commerce (M. zibeUina, Auct.), celebrated for its beautiful fur, is a member of this division. In the Sable and several others, the soles are completely covered with close fur; but in M. Jlavigula of the Himmalayas, the under surface of the foot is naked, -and the toes joined to their extremities, as in the Badgers, &c.] The Skunks {MepJutis, Cuv;) — Possess, like the Weasels, two false molars above and three below ; but their superior tuberculous grinder is very large, and as long as broad, and their inferior carnivorous tooth has two tubercles on its inner side, thus approximating these animals to the Badgers, in the same way as the Weasels are related to the Grisons and Wolverine. In addition to this, the Skunks accord with the Badgers in having their anterior claws long, and adapted for burrowing, and they are even semiplantigrade, [and equally slow in their movements]. This resemblance extends even to the distribution of their colours. [The truth is, they scarcely differ from the Badgers, except in having a remarkably fine and large bushy tail, which is l)orne elevated, like the small short tail of the Badgers.] In the present family, notorious for diffusing a fetid stench, the Skunks are pre-eminently distinguished by emitting a most intolerable odour. These animals are mostly striped longitudinally with white on a black ground, but the number of stripes appears to vary even in the .same species ; [not, however, I think, to the extent that has been supposed ; for there are several species, dl.stinguislmble by their osteology, which agree sufliciently in their general style of colouring, allowing for some variation on the part of each, to induce the supposition, judging only from external characters, that they might all be referred to one. The intensity of their most nauseous suftocating stench, which has been described to resemble that of the Fitchet mingled with assafoetida, is scarcely credible: it appears, however, to be emitted only w. fcelf-defence. The geographic range of this genus is confined to America]. We may make an additional subgenus of The Teledu {Mydaus, F. Cuv.), — Which, together with the dentition, [the teeth, however, being smaller (from which results a more * I have inuKht In vtin for tny oilculogical distinction between Ihcae aniniali. — Ed. + Hence our n.-itive species arc rfeslgnntcd Svrft-mnrt, in opposl on to Fttu-uuirt, or /oul mart, n cominon name for the Polecat. — 1.JJ. Order 3. CAKNARIA. 77 elongated muzzle), the canines placed further bacKwara, and the molars more sharply tuberculaten, recalling to mind those of the Imectivora] , feet, and colouring even of the Skunks, have the muzzle truncated, so as to assume the form of a snout, and the tail reduced to a small pencil, [which, however, is also held erect, as in the Badgers, &c.] Only one species is known, — The Javanese Teledu {Mid. melaceps, F. Cuv.) — [Brownish] black, the nape of the neck, a stripe along the back, and tail, white ; the dorsal stripe sometimes interrupted about the middle. [Fur soft and rather fine.] Its stench is equally horrible with that of the Skunks, [and precisely similar, as I am infonned by Dr. Horsfield, who has had experience of both : it subsists principally on earth-worms, for which it turns up the light soil with its snout, in the manner of a Hog ; is easily tamed, and by no means offensive in captivity ; and it is especially remarkable for its restriction to a particular elevation on the mountains of Java, below which it is never found. We may here also introduce The Nyentek {Helictis, Gray; Meloyale, Is. Geof.), — The body of which appears to be more lengthened and vermiform, and the tuberculous molar small and transverse : it is described to have three false molars above, and four below ; the upper carnivorous tooth three-lobed, with a broad two-pointed internal process : soles of the feet bare, and toes united. The Nyentek of the Javanese {Gulo orientalis, Horsf. ; H. moschatus. Gray.) — Size of a Polecat : brown, with a white stripe along the back, crossed by another less distinct over the shoulders, and a white spot on the head ; tail of mean length. This animal inhabits eastern Asia, and smells strongly of musk : it is one of the few Mammalia known in Europe to inhabit China, where the larger indigenous species are supposed to Iiave been exterminated. ] The Otters {Lutra, Storr) — Have three false molars above and below, a strong process to the upper carnivorous tooth, an internal tubercle to the lower one, and a large tuberculous grinder that is nearly as long as broad ; theii' head is flattened, and the tongue rather rough. They are distinguished from all the preceding genera by their [more completely] webbed toes, and horizontally flattened tail, — two characters which pro- claim them to be aquatic animals : they subsist on fish. The European Otter {Must. Infra, Lin.) — Brown above, whitish round the lips, on the cheeks, and the whole under parts. The rivers of Europe [and sometimes the sea-coast. Is occasionally spotted above with white. Tlie species of this extensive genus, which is almost generally diffused, are mostly very similar externally, and are best distinguished by the configuration of the cranium, &c.] That of India {L. nair, F. Cuv.) is employed for fishing, as the Dog is for hunting. The Cape Otter {L. capensls, F. Cuv.) is remarkable (at least at a particular age) foi having no nails ; a character on which M. Lesson has founded his genus Aonyx : young individuals, however, have been received from the Cape, which possess nails ; and it remains to ascertain whether they are of the same species. The American Otter {M. braziliensis), from the rivers of both Americas, has the extremity of the muzzle, which in most other animals is naked, covered with close fur: [it is also very gregarious in its habits. But the most remark- able species is the great Sea Otter (Mustela lutris, Lin., composing the division Enhydra of Fleming. It is twice the size of the European species, from which it differs in the form of its hind feet, which have the outermost toe longest. The adults have but four lower incisors, the exterior pair being doubtless forced out by the canines.] Its blackish velvet-looking fur is extremely valuable, to obtain which the English and Russians hunt the animal throughout the northern shores of the Pacific Ocean, for the purpose of disposing of it to the Chinese and Japanese. [A species intermediate to the Sea Otter and the others constitutes the Ptero- nura, Gray. M. Temniinck has received a new genus allied to the Otters, which he names Potamophilus. We here arrive at the termination of an extensive and very distinct natural group, wliich falls under two principal subdivisions, the limits of which, however, are not easy to define. The first consists of exclusively ground animals, with a thick and heavy body, stout limbs, and strong claws adapted for burrowing with rapidity. It comprises the Badgers, Teledu, Skunks, Taxels, Bharsiah, and Ratal ; nearly all of which ordinarily erect the tail, and are more or less striped longitudinally. The remainder are vermiform and agile, and most of them ascend trees with facility : they are also more predatory, though some of the former (as the Ratel) possess an equally carni- vorous dentition : many are marked similarly to the preceding. The Zorilles might almost be referred to either section ; but we prefer retaining them near the Weasels.] The second subdivision of the Digitigrada [being the first, strictly so named,] possesses [hke the Ursidce] two flat tuberculated molars posterior to the upper carnivorous tootli*, • There are three tuberculous molars to each jaw in the Canit {Megalotit) Latandif and De Blainville fibres the craoium of a common Doj In which the same was observable. — Eo. 78 Div. 1. VERTEBRATE ANIMALS.— 3*IA]VBIALIA. Class 1 which has itself a large internal process. They are carnivorous animals, but not preda- tory in proportion to their strength, and often feed on carrion. They have all a small coecum. The Dogs {Canis, Lin.) — Have three false molars above, four below, and two tuberculous grinders behind each carnivorous tooth. The first of these upper tuberculous molars is very large. Their superior carnivorous tooth has only a small internal tubercle; but the inferior one has its hinder portion altogether tuberculous. The tongue is soft ; the fore-feet have five toes, and the hind-feet [in general] only four. [The coecum is of a pecuhar spiral form.] The Domestic Dog (C. familiarig, Lin.)— Distinguished by its recurved tail, but otherwise varying infinitely with respect to size*, form, colour, and quality of the hair. It is the most complete, the most singular, and useful conquest ever made by Man ; the whole species having: become his property : each individual is devoted to its particular master, assumes his manners, knows and defends his property, and remains attached to him until death ; and all this, neither from constraint nor want, but solely from gratitude and pure friendship. The swiftness, strength, and scent of the Dog have rendered him a powerful ally to Man against other animals, and were even, perhaps, necessary to the establishment of society. It is the only animal which has followed Man all over the world. Some naturalists think the Dog is a Wolf, and others that he is a domesticated Jackal ; but those which have become wild on desert islands resemble neither one nor the other, t The wild Dogs, and those which belong to savages, such as the inhabitants of Australia, have straight ears, whence has arisen a belief that the European races, nearest to the original tjTpe, are our Shepherd's Dog and Wolf Dog ; but com- parison of the crania indicates a closer approach on the part of the French Matin and Danish Dog, after which foUow the Hound, the Pointer, and the Terrier, which chiefly difl'er in size and the relative proportions of parts. The Greyhound is more attenuated, and has the the frontal sinus smaller, and scent weaker. The Shepherd's Dog and Wolf Dog resume the straight ears of the wild ones, but with greater developement of brain, which continues to increase, together with the intelligence, in the Barbel and Spaniel. The Bull-dog, on the other hand, is remarkable for the shortness and strength of its jaws. The small pet Dogs, the Pugs, lesser Spaniels, Shocks, &c., are the most degenerate productions, and exhibit the most striking marks of that influence to which Man subjects all nature. The Dog is born with its eyes closed ; it opens them on the tenth or twelfth day ; its teeth commence changing in the fourth month, and its full growth is attained at the expiration of the second year. The female remains with young sixty-three days, and produces from six to ten young at a birth. The Dog is old at fifteen years, and seldom Fig. 28. — Tlie Din^o, or Australiau Dog. • A ipecimen, which attained two years of age, and is preserved In tlie Museum of Dresden, measured only five inches and a half in lenj^th ; this being exactly the same length, from the corner of the eye to the tip of tlie nose, of a Saxou boar-huund examined by Col. Hamilton Smith.— Eo. t If the Idea, which I conceive there is et'ery reason to entertain, respecting the ori- Thibet Dog . WildladianlJoB Order 3. CAENARIA. 79 lives beyond twenty. Every one is acquainted with its \igilance, bark, singular mude of copulation, and suscepti- bility of various kinds of education. The Wolf (C. lupus, Lin.)— A large species, with a straight tail ; the most noxious of all the Carnivora of Europe. It is found from Egypt to Lapland, and appears to have passed over to America. Towards the north, its coat becomes white in winter. It attacks all our animals, but does not evince a courage proportioned to its strength ; it often feeds on carrion. Its habits and physical developement are closely related to those of the Dog. Another species, the Black Wolf (C. lycaon) is sometimes, though rarely, found in France. The ]Mexicau Wolf (C. mexicanus, Lin.) has the under part of the body and the feet white. The Red Wolf (C. ^Mfta/a, Az.)— A fine cinnamon red, with a short black mane along tlie spine. From the marshes of South America. [I'he beautiful fur of this animal renders it one of the handsomest of the genus.] The Jackal (C. aureus, Lin.) [division Vu/picanis, Blainv. and Jacalus, Hodg.] — A voracious species, which hunts like the Dog [in packs], and in its conformation and the facility with which it is tamed, resembles the latter more nearly than any other wild species. Jackals are found from the Indies and the environs of the Caspian Sea, as far as Guinea inclusive ; but it is doubtful whether they all belong to the same species. [There are now several well-known species of these animals. The Canis primeevus, Hodg., C. Dukhunensis, Sykes, is a large red Jackal, or Jackal-like Dog, inhabiting India, and very like the Dingo of Australia.] Foxes [ Vulpes of some naturalists] may be distinguished from Wolves and Dogs by having the tail longer and more bushy [though in this respect there is no drawing the line of separation] , by a more pointed muzzle, and pupils which, daring the day, form a vertical fissure ; also by their upper incisors being less sloping; they emit a foetid odour [scarcely less offensive in the Jackals], dig burrows, and attack only the weaker animals ; [are also more frugivorous than the preceding.*] This subgenus is more numerous than the foregoing. The Common Fox (C vulpes, Lin.) — More or less rufous, with the extremity of the tail [generally] white. Is found from Sweden to Egypt, [though many of those of the south of Europe appertain to a diffe- rent species, C. melanogaster, Savi, which is smaller and less carnivorous than tbe Common Fox, and differs somewhat in habit.f There are very many others, almost generally diffused over the globe. We can only mention] The Arctic or Blue Fox, or Isatis (C lagopus, Lin.) — Deep ash-colour, often white in winter; the under surface of the toes hairy, (though several of the Foxes, and even the common one, have hair under the feet in the north). From the glacial regions of both continents, particularly the north of Scandinavia ; is much esteemed for its fur. The interior of Africa produces Foxes remarkable for the size of their ears, and the strength of their whiskers : they compose the Megalotis, Illiger. Two are known, the C. megalotis, Lalande [Megalotis Lalandi of some authors], a Cape species, somewhat smaller than the Common Fox, but higher on its legs ; [especially remarkable for possessing three tuberculous molars posterior to the cutting grinder of each jaw : its teeth become much worn with use, whence it would appear to be mainly frugivorous.] And The Zerda, or Fennec of Bruce (C. zerda, Gm.), which has ears still larger; it is a very small species, almost of a whitish fulvous, with woolly hair extending beneath the toes ; burrows in the sands of Nubia, [and ascends the trunks of trees with faciUty : dentition that of an ordinary Fox.j Fiif. 29.— The Black Fox. Finally, we may place after the Dogs, as a fourth subgenus, distinguished by the num- ber of toes, which are four to each foot, The Wild Dog of the Cape (Hyr [udiaii Tchneirmou 'fldywttwi XchneuTti^av Order 3. CARNARIA. 81 The Musangs {Paradoxurus, F. Cuv.) — Possess the teeth and most of the characters of the Genets, with which they were long confounded : hut their general form is stouter, and their gait plantigrade : what more particularly distinguishes them, however, is the spiral inclination of the tail*, which is not prehensile. Only one species is known, the Pougonnd of India (P. iypus, F. Cuv.), termed Palm Marten by the French in India. [No less than ten or twelve have since been discovered, chiefly from India and thegreat Asiatic islands, though some inhabit Africa. They feed much on fruit, but are also tolerably carnivorous, springing upon their prey from a place of ambush : gait slow and plantigrade, with the hea'd and tail lowered, and the back arched; but they also advance by rapid digital bounds, and are excellent climbers, constructing a nest on the forked branches of trees. They are easily tamed, and, when angry, growl and spit like Cats : sleep rolled up in a ball, &c. As the Dogs may be considered the highest of the Carnivora, and the Cats the most eminently predaceous, so the Musangs may be regarded as presenting the fairest average of a member of this division. Their dentition is scarcely distinguishable from that of the Dogs ; but, on reverting the cranium, their cerebral cavity is seen to be proportionally smaller. Various species of Musang have been named as separate subgenera by different systematists. Amhliodon, Jourd., is the Ictide dore'e of M. F. Cuvier ; and Paguma, Gray, refers to tlie young of P. larvafus. P. Derbianus, Gray, a species approximating the Genets, of a fulvous-grey colour, with broad cross bands of dark brown, is the Hemigalea zebra of Jourdan. Most of them present the sti-eaks and spots of the Genets, but on a darker ground-tint. Se> eral affect the vicinity of human habitations, and are very destructive to poultry, their eggs, &c. The Cynogale {Cynogale, Gray, Limictis, Blainv.) — Is an aquatic representative of the preceding, to which it bears a similar relation to that which the Otters hold with the Weasels. Its false molars are large, compressed, sharp, and slightly notched or serrated ; and entire dental system, together with its external characters, generally modified for a pis- civorous regimen. One species only is known (C. Bemiettii, Gr. ; T7i'. and Lim. carchm-ias, Bl.) — A native of Sumatra, uniform dark brown ; the ears small : head, and also colouring, very similar to that of a common Otter : its tail, however, is cylindrical.] The Mangocstes {Mangusta, Cuv. ; Herpestes, Ill.f) The pouch voluminous and simple, and the anus situate within its cavity ; [bony orbits of the skull most usually perfect.] Their hairs are annulated with pale and dark tints, which determine the general colour of the eye. [Tail long as in the preceding subdivisions, and bushy towards its insertion. The species are very numerous ; and] that of Egypt (Viv. ichneumon, Lin.), so celebrated among the ancients by the name of Ichneumon, is grey, with a long tail terminated by a black tuft ; it is larger than our Cat, and as slender as a Marten. It chiefly hunts foi the eggs of the Crocodile, but also feeds on all sorts of small animals ; brought up in houses [where, in common with its congeners, it is readily domesticated, and exhibits much intelli- gence and attachment], it pursues Mice, reptiles, &c. By the Europeans at Cairo it is designated Pharaoh's Rat, and Nems by the natives. The ancient allegation of its entering the throat of the Crocodile, to destroy it, is quite fabulous. The common Indian species (Viv. mungos, Lin.) is celebrated for its combats with the most dangerous serpents ; and for having led us to a knowledge of the Ophiorhiza mungos as an antidote to their venom. [Some are less vermiform in their make, and higher on the legs : one, teimed the Vansire by Buffon, forms the division Athylax of M. F. Cuvier; others compose the Galidea and Ichneumonia of M. Is. Geoffrey : Cynictis, Og., includes several species with only four toes to each foot ; and Lasiopus and Mango, Auct., are additional dismember- ments of this genus. The Urva of Mr. Hodgson appears also to be a Mangouste, with incomplete orbits.] The Surikate {Ryzcena, 111.) — Resembles the Mangoustes, even to the tints and annulations of its fur ; but is distinguished from them, and from all the Carnivora hitherto mentioned [save the Lycaon picta and Cynictis, just indi- cated], by having only four toes to each foot. It is also higher upon the legs, and does not possess the small molar immediately behind the canine. The pouch extends even into the anus. Only one is known {Viv. tetradactyla, Gm.), a native of Africa, and rather smaller than the Mangouste of India. The Mangue {^Crossarchus, F. Cuv.), — Has the muzzle, teeth, pouch, and gait of the Surikate ; the toes and genital organs of the Man- goustes. * In those which I have seen alive, including P. ry;)«f, this charac- ' + Tliis term is more generally ad.ipted. The name Ichtteuiiinn, ter was not perceptible : the individual figured by M. F. Cuvier pre- formerly applied to the animals of this genus, has been transferred renting n morbid deformity, an analogous instance of which occurred to a very extensive group of Hyraenopterous Insects. — Ed. in a Leopard formerlv exhibited in London. — Ed. , p 82 Div. 1. VEETEBEATE ANBIALS.— MAMMALIA. Class 1, We know but of one (Cr. ohscurus, F. Cuv.), from Sierra i^eone : size of a Snrikate. [Other Mangoustes are included by recent systematists ; and it may be remarked that both tliis and the preceding subdivision are merely slight modifications of Ilerpestes, and have similar perfect orbits.] We shall here mention a singular animal from South Africa, which is known only when young, and which has five toes before, four behind, and the head a little elongated as in the Civets, the legs raised, those behind rather shorter, and a mane as in the Hy^na ; and which also resembles the Striped Hyaena very remarkably iu its colouring. Its anterior thumb is short, and placed high up. The Proteles Lalandi, Is.Geof.: an inhabitant of caverns. The individuals examined, which were all young, possessed but three small false molars, and one small tuberculous back molar. It seems as though their teeth had never come to perfection, as often happens in the Gfenets. (See my Ossemens fossUes, iv. 388.) [The per- manent canines are of tolerable size, but the simple form of the molars, all very small, and separated by intervals, presents an anomaly an>ong the Carnivora, which is even more re- markable on account of the affinity of this spe- cies to the Hyaenas. It is destructive to very young lambs, and is stated to attack the mas- sive fatty protuberance on the tails of the African Sheep.} Fig. 32.— Proteles LaUudi. The last subilivisiou of the Digitigrafles has no small teeth whatever behind the large molar of the lower jaw. It contains the most sanguinary and carnivorous of the class. There are two genera. The Hyenas {Hycma, Storr) — Have three false molars above and four below, all conical, blunt, and singularly large : their npper car- nivorous tooth has a small tubercle within and in front ; but the lower one has none, presenting only two stout cutting points. This powerful armature enables them to crush the bones of the largest prey. Their tongue is rough [exhibiting a circular collection of retroflected spines] ; all their feet have each but four toes, as in the Surikate ; and under the anus is a deep and glandular pouch, which led the ancients to believe that these animals were hermaphrodite. The muscles of their neck, and of the jaws, are so robust, that it is almost impossible to take from them anytliing they may have seized ; wheoce, among the Arabs, their name is the symbol of obstinacy. It sometimes happens that their cervical vertebrae become anchylosed in consequence of these violent efforts ; and thus has arisen the opinion that the animals of this genus have only one bone in their neck. They are nocturnal animals, and inhabit caverns ; voracious, subsisting chiefly on dead bodies, Avhich they will even disinter from the grave, a habit that has given rise to a multitude of superstitious traditions. Three species are known. The striped Hya;na {H. vulgaris. Cams h>incceeded in timiiiii; kii Ocelot, wliich for tlirce ycnrj enjoyed the rniiKe of hii houoc and garden ns freely km a domestic Cut, »ppe»rin(- ttiornuiflily reclaimed. One evcniii(f, however, «t the f.re- •ide, when a child of three /ear» old wft« plnying with it, an it had often done before, the animal, bciiif irritated, icized the inlant by Ihe throat, and killed it before a»Ki»tHncc could be rendered. An inatnnie bus occurred in this country of a babe being nttackcd by a tame Fcrrtl. The Donientic Cat i» undoubtedly more bu-*ceptiblc of attachment than it hart been generally described ; and it is surprisin< In pericivc how patiently it bears the roniih handling of chililren. We kave (cen it hail the return of persons it knew with as lively Joy aa any anintal could well testify, and tliis in the case of individuals who bad never fed it; but it is understood, with what yeinral truth may perlt'ips be questioned, that while the Dog will mourn and oven pine to death over the body of its master, the Cat feels no coti.|ninction in making it its prey : it is needless to observe, however, that the ititcl* led of the Cat is very much inferior to that of tlie Djg, on wliich account some allowance may be granted. With respect to the Domestic Cat, also, another consideration may be borne in mind, wbich is, that there can be little doubt that its nature lias been considerably nnidihed by domestication, w hich has gradually rendered it less exclusively carnivor^as than its wild con geners. It is even remarkable that instances of the rapacity of 'hia I animal towards young children are not of freijuei;t occurrence. — Kd. XUl. NepauL Ca,t. ^^\ll! iK!^ -Blatck Leopard. Order 3. CARNARIA. R5 Fig. 36.— Tlie Puma domestic, iianieJ /'. Tcmminckii : /<". jB/an/cep* approximates the last, but is Binaller, with some niarkiii^c^ ■<» 'ha head, and is remarkable for its complete bony orbits.] We m.'g-lit place as a separate subgenus [Cy- nailufus, Blainv. ? ] a .species which has the head roiiiulei' and shorter, and the talons of which are not retractile [a statement which is unwar- ranted by fact], the Chetah, or Hunting Leo- pard (F. jubata, Schreb.) : size of a Leopard, but longer-bodied, and stands higher ; of a pale fulvous, with tolerably uniform small black spots, a black streak reaching from the eye to the angle of the mouth, and tail annulated at the end. The disposition of this animal is mild and docile. [From Asia and Africa, but apparently not specifically the same on the two continents. The DiGiTiGRADA of Cuvier, exclu sive of the semi-plantigrade genera which have no coecum, divide primarily into, first, the Canine group, or the Dogs and Foxes, which is the most distinctly se- parated by anatomical characters ; the remainder are all much more nearly al- lied, but we may venture to detach the Feline animals or Cats : the rest may all be included in the Viverrine section, to which the Hyaenas strictly appertain ; a' varied, but quite natural assemblage, ex- clusively confined in its distribution to the eastern continent, and scarcely extending beyond the tropics ; w^hereas the former groups are generally diffused, with the exception of Aus- tralia and the remote oceanic islands. Of the Viverrine animals, the most definitely cha- racterized subdivision is that of the IVIangoustes and subordinate sections : the Genets scarcely differ from the Cats except in the prolongation of tlie muzzle ; and the Hyrcna group is so nearly related to the Civets that it does not appear to be separable on physiological characters.] The Amphibia [Pinnigrada, Blain.] — Compose the third and last of the minor tribes into which we divide the Carnivora. Their feet are so short and so enveloped in the skin, that, upon land, they only serve to crawl with* ; but, as the intervals between their toes are occupied by membranes, they form excel- lent oars : hence these animals pass the greater portion of their lives in the water, which they only quit to bask in the sunshine, and to suckle their young. Their lengthened body ; their very moveable spine, provided with muscles which strongly flex it ; their narrow pelvis ; their short close fiu', setting flat upon the skin; all combine to render them able swimmers, and the details of their anatomy confirm these first indications. [As in the Dugong, the Cetacea, and other large aquatic Mammalia, their bones are light and spongy, more particularly in the larger species.] Only two genera have as yet been distinguished, the Seals and the Morses. The Seals {Phoca, Lin.) — Have six or four incisors above, four or only two below, pointed canines, and grinders to the number of twenty, twenty-two, or twenty-four [that is to say, two, in the complete series, posterior to the representative of the carnivorous tooth], all of them trenchant or conical, without any tuber- culous portion : five toes to each foot, the anterior successively shortening from the thumb ; whereas. • It is unlf when clambering that the Seal employs its feet on land- it wrigglea along, upon the gro'ind, by the action of the ahdo miiial muscles. — Ed. 86 Div. 1. VERTEBRATE ANIMALS— MAMMALIA. Class 1. in the hind feet, the outer and inner toes are the longest, and the intermediate comparatively short. Their fore -feet are enveloped in the integuments of the body as far as the wrist, the hinder almost to the heel ; between the latter is a short tail. The head of a Seal resembles that of a Dog ; and they have the same intelligence and mild and expressive physiognomy. They are easily tamed, 'and become much attached to their feeder. The tongue is smooth, and notched at the end, their stomach simple, coecum short, intestinal canal long, and tolerably regular. These animals subsist on tish, which they always devour in the water, and are enabled to close their nostrils when diving, by means of a sort of valve. As they remain long below the surface, it was supposed that t\\t foramen ovale continued open as in a foetus, which is not the case : they have a large venous cavity, however, in their liver, which assists them in diving, by rendering respiration less necessary to the motion of the blocid. The latter is very abundant and very dark. Analogous to Calocephala, The Seals, (properly so called, or without external ears), — Have the incisors pointed ; all their toes enjoy a certain degree of motion, and are terminated by pointed nails placed on the edge of the connecting membrane. They may be divided according to the number of their incisors. In Calocephala, F. Cuv. [Phoca, as restricted], — There are six above and four below. [The cheek-teeth have more than one root ; and besides the main catting point, there is on each an anterior smaller one, and two posterior. The brain is in this ilivision amply developed, and the intelligence proportionate.] The common Seal {Ph. vitulina, Lin. ; Ph. littorea, Thiem.)— Common on the coast of Europe in vast herds, and extending far to the north. The European seas, however, contain several Phoca, vihich have been long^ confounded, some of which are per- haps varieties of the others ; as Ph. hispida, Schreb. ; Ph xnnellata, Nills. ; Pk.fretida, Fahr., &c. [Those of the British islands much require elucidation.] a species more easily recog- nized is The Harp Seal (Ph. t/roenlandica and oceanica, Auct.), from the whole north of the globe. [Re- markable for the ditTerence in marking between the adult male (fig. 37) and the female and young; length five feet. It pertains to the British fauna, as does also the next species, according to report, for which the llaVtchcerus griseus, how- ever, has been generally mistaken.] Bearded Seal (Ph. barbata, Fabr.), a northern species, surpassing all the preceding ones in size, which is from seven to eight feet. Its moustaches are thicker and stronger than in the others. [Several more are known from the north- ern hemisphere.] Fiu- 37.— Greenlnnri Seal. The Sterrincks {Stenorhynchus, F. Cuv.) — Possess four incisors to each jaw, and cheek- teeth deeply notched into three points (fig. 38), [l)ut with single roots : the muzzle slender and much elongated ; and very small claws]. One only is known (Ph. leptotn/r, Bl.), from the Austral seas : size of the Bearded Seal. [An allied species constitutes The Leptonyx {Lpptony.r, Gray) — Tbe grinders of which arc bluntly tbree-lobed, the muzzle broad and rounded, and hind feet clawless. Olaria Weddellii. lesson.— Also from the South Seas]. 38.— Teelh of Slerrinck. nv: A\MFM;EE^E^.O)ir' ^ AWJCMaMI.S Seal / Order 3. CARNARIA. 87 The Monk (Pelagius, F. Cuv.) — Also possesses four incisors to each jaw ; but the grinders form obtuse cones, with a slightly marked process before and behind. There is one in the Mediterranean, Pit. monat/ius, Gm., from ten to twelve feet in length. It is particularly found among the Grecian and Adriatic Isles, and was probably the species best known to the ancients. [The Halkets {Halich^rtis, Nilsson). Grinding teeth of the upper jaw simple ; those of the lower with an inconspicuous tubercle before and behind. Muzzle deep and obliquely truncated : the head flat, and brain comparatively very small. //. ffrppfiHS, Nils., a species nearly as larg'e as the Bearded Seal, inhabits the Baltic and British seas, where it would seem to be not inie P/iocteJ] uncommon. Its intelligence has been obser\'ed to be very inferior to that of the The Hoodcap (Sfemmafojjns, F. Cuv,). Four superior, and two inferior incisors; the grinders compressed and slightly three-lobed, supported by thick roots. Ph. crisTata, Gm. ; Ph, leonina, Fabr.— A species attaining a length of seven or eight feet, with loose skin upon the head, which can be inflated into a sort of cowl, and is drawn over the eyes when the animal is menaced, at which time the nostrils also are pufted out like bladders. From the Arctic Ocean. Finally, The Myrouxgas {MacrorJdnns, F. Cuv. ; \_Cystophora, Nilsson,] ) — Possess, with the incisors of the preceding, obtuse conical molars (fig. 39) [but massive canines], and muzzle lengthened into a short moveable proboscis. The largest known Seal is of this subgenus ; the Ph. leonina, Lin. — Twenty to twentj'-four feet in length [sometimes thirty, according to English measure, and of great proportionate bulk]. Brown, the muzzle of the male terminated by a wrinkled snout, which becomes inflated when the animal is angr^'. It is common in the southern latitudes of the Pacific Ocean, and of great request for the quantity of very superior oil with which it abounds. Those with external ears, The Otaries (Otaria, Peron), — FiK.39-Tee»,ofM5Tou„ea Are worthv of being formed into a separate genus, inasmuch as, besides the projecting auditory conch, the four middle upper incisors ha%-e a double cutting edge (a structure not hitherto remarked in any other animal) ; the exterior are simple and very small, and the four inferior forked : the molars are all simply conical. The toes of their anterior swimming-paws [which are placed far backward] are almost immoveable ; and the membrane of their hind feet is prolonged into a flap beyond each toe : all the nails are thin and flat. Ph.JHbata,Gm. (Sea Lion of SteWer, Pernatty, &c., but not of Anson, which refers to the My- rounga; the latter being also the. S^ea TT"o//of Per- natty). From fifteen to twenty feet [French], and move, in length : the neck of the male covered with more frizzled and thickly-set hairs than those on the other parts of the body. From the South Pacific. [The Falkland Otar>-, or Fur Seal of com- merce (C. FalMatidia, Desm.)— Remarkable for the great disproportionate size of the sexes (if, indeed, th** same does not apply to all its con- geners) ; the full-grown male, according to AVeddell, measuring 6 ft. 9 inch. ; the female only 3^ feet. It is polygamous, in the proportion of one male to about twenty females. Tlie fur is an esteemed article of commerce; and so abun- dant was the species formerly, in various locali- ties, that for a period of fifty years, not less than 1,200,000 skins were annually obtained from a •ingle island]. Fie. 4o.-T),f Ursa.. 88 Div. 1. VERTEBRATE ANIMALS— MAMMALIA. Class 1. ITie Ursal {Ph. ursitia, Gin. [Arciocep/ialus ursimts, F. Cuv. fig. 40.]— Eight feet long, no mane, varying ivova brown to whitish. From the north of tlie Pacific Ocean. The Morse (Tricheeus, Lin.) — Resembles the Seals in the general form of its body and limbs, but differs considerably from them in the head and teeth. The lower jaw has neither incisors nor canines, and is compressed anteriorly to pass between two enormous canines or tusks which issue from the upper one, and which are directed downwards, attaining sometimes a length of two feet, with proportionate thickness. The magnitude of the sockets requisite for holding such enormous canines raises up the whole front of the upper jaw, so as to form a thick bulging muzzle, the nostrils opening upwards, instead of being terminal. The molars are all short cylinders, obliquely truncated. There are four [or five] on each side above and below ; but at a certain age, two of the upper ones fall out. Between the canines are two incisors similar to the molars, which the majority of observers have overlooked, as they are not fi.\ed in the interma-xillary bones ; and between these again, in young individuals, are two pointed and small ones. The stomach and intestines of the Morse are nearly similar to those of the Seals : and it appears that they subsist on fuci as well as on animal substances. One species only has been ascertained, the Morse or Walrus (TV. rosmarus, L.) ; an inhabitant of all parts of the Arctic seas, exceeding the largest Bull in bulk ; it attains a length of twenty feet, and is covered with short yel- lowish hair. This animal is much sought for on account of its oil and tusks ; the ivor/ of which, though coarse- grained, is employed in the arts. The skin makes excellent coach-braces. [A strange assertion originated with Sir E. Home, that the feet of the Morse possess suckers, by which it is enabled to ascend perpendicular ice-bergs. There is no foundation for this statement. It is difficult to intercalate the Amphibia in the series of Carnivora, and to determine to what extent their pecuharities should be regarded as adaptive modifications, based on the rudimental structure of the whole order. At the head of the Carnivora we prefer to place the Dogs or CaiiidcB, followed by the Viverrida and Felidm : the Seals or Phocidte might, we conceive, next range with less impro- priety than elsewhere : and after them the Mustelida, and Ursidcej then, finally, the Insectivora, which the author ranks as equivalent to all the foregoing. The Cheiroptera, or Bats, we deem to be subordinate rather to the preceding order. Remains of nearly all the principal genera and some additional ones have been found, more or less abundantly, in the tertiary strata, or deposits overlying the chalk, but not in beds of anterior formation.] THE FOURTH ORDER OF MAMMALIANS — MARSUPIATA,— {Or that of the Pouched Animals,) — With which we formerly terminated the Caunaria, as a fourth family of that great ordinal division, presents so many singularities in the economy of its members, that we are induced to separate and elevate it to its present position ; the more particularly, as we observe in it a sort of representation of three very different orders. The first of all their peculiarities is the premature production of their young, which are born in a state of developement scarcely comparable to th.it of an ordinary foetus a few days after conception. Incapable of motion, and barely exhibiting the rudiments of limbs and Order 4. MARSUPIATA. 89 other external orj^ans, these minute offspring attach themselves to the teats of their mother, and remain fixed there until they have acquired a degree of developement analogous to that in which other animals are horn. The skin of the abdomen is almost always so disposed ai'ound the mammae as to form a pouch, in which these imperfect young are preserved as in a second uterus ; and into which, long after they can walk, they retire for shelter on the appre- hension of danger. Two peculiar bones attached to the pubis, and interjjosed between the muscles of the abdomen, support the pouch, [and prevent inconvenient pressure of the young, when grown, upon the bowels.] These bones are also found in the male, and even in those species in which the fold that forms the pouch is scarcely visible. The matrix of the animals of this order does not open by a single orifice into the extremity of the vagina, but communicates with this canal by two bent lateral tubes. The premature birth of the young appears to depend on this singular organization. The scrotum of the male, contrary to what obtains in other quadi-upeds, hangs before the penis, which at rest is directed backwards. Another peculiarity of the Marsupiata is, that, notwithstanding a general resemblance of the species to each other, so striking that they were all long included in one genus, they differ so much in the teeth, the digestive organs, and the feet, that if we rigidly adhered to these characters, it would be necessary to separate them into distinct orders. They carry us by insensible gradations from the Carnaria to the Rodentia* , and there are even some animals which have the pelvis furnished with similar bones ; but which, being destitute of incisors and even of any soi-t of teeth, have been approximated to the Edentata, where, in fact, we shall leave them, under the name of Monotremata. [The latter are now more properly included as a second order of the same superior division of Mammalia which contains the Marsupiata, by the general consent of physiologists.] In brief, it may be stated that the Marsupiata form a distinct class, parallel to that of ordinary quadrupeds, and divisible into similar orders ; so that, if we were to arrange these two classes into even columns, the Opossums, Dasyures, and Bandicoots, would be opposed to the insectivorous Carnaria, such as the Tenrecs and Moles ; the Phalangers and Potoroos to the Urchins and Shrews ; while the Kangaroos, properly so called, could not well be compared with any other genus; but the Wombat should be placed opposite the Rodentia. Lastly, if we were to consider the bones of tlie pouch only [commonly desig- nated marsupial bones], and regard as marsupial all animals which possess them, the Platypuses and Echidnas might compose a group parallel to the Edentata. Linnaeus ranged all the species which he knew under his genus Didelphis, signifying double matrix. The pouch is indeed in some respects a second one. [The Marsupiata, together with the Monotremata, is now generally regarded as a distinct subclass, Ovovivipara, equivalent to the rest of the Mammalia. Its members are lower in their organization than any other mammiferous animals, approximating the oviparous type (and particularly Reptiles), in sundry details of their organization. The hemispheres of tlie brain, for instance, (which is much reduced in size,) are not united by a corpus callosuni ; and they are observed to be very defective in intelligence, as is indicated by their phy- siognomy t : the blood also is returned to the heart by two principal veins, as in Birds and Reptiles ; and the sutures of the skull never become united. In short, they hold an analogous relation towards other Mammalia, to that which the Batrachia present to all other Reptiles. Their incisor teeth frequently exceed six in number, which is the maxi- mum throughout the rest of the class, — another indication of their inferiority. The geographic range of the Marsupiata, with the exception of the Opossum group peculiar to America, is at present almost confined to Australia and the neighbouring coun- * Only upon the supposition that the gnawing teeth of the Rodentia arc moiiified incisors, whicli is more tlian doubtful. — Ed. t A curious iilustratiun of tliis inferiority on the part of the Mar. sup^ati, is afToriJe'l by their turninif to bite the stick nith which thej are smitten, rfttht-r than tlic hand that ({uiiles it. 90 Div. 1. YERTEBRATE ANIMALS.— MAMMALIA. Class 1. tries, where they constitute, very nearly indeed, the only mammiferous animals ; but fossil remains of them occur, sparingly, in the ancient secondary deposits of Europe, where hitherto no higher Mammalia have been detected. Consequently, the Marsupiata would appear to have been much earlier introduced upon our planet ; a further indication, if not of their inferiority, at least of their intrinsical separateness as a group : there is reason also to suspect that at former epochs they were much more numerous, as well as generally diflFused, than at present.*] The first subdivision of them is distinguished by long canines, and small incisors to each jaw ; the back molars are beset*vnth pointed tubercles, and the general character of the teeth is the same as in the Insectivora, which these animals entirely resemble iu their regimen. The Opossums {Didelphis, Lin.), — WTiich of all the Marsupiata have been the longest known, compose a genus peculiar to America. They have ten incisors above, and eight below; three anterior compressed molars, and four sharply tuberculated back molars, the superior of which are triangular, the inferior oblong : so that, with the four canines, they have in all fifty teeth, a number greater than has as yet been observed m any other quadruped.f Their tongue is bristled, and the tail prehensile and in part naked ; the hinder thumb is long and effectively opposable to the four other digits, whence tlie name Pedimam has been applied to these animals ; it is not furnished with a nail. Their extremely wide mouth, and large naked ears, give them a peculiar physiognomy. The glam penis is bifurcated. They are fetid and nocturnal animals, whose gait is slow ; nestle upon trees, and there pursue birds, insects, &c., without rejecting fruit : their stomach is small and simple, and the ccecum moderate and without enlargements. The females of certain species have a deep pouch, wherein are placed their teats, and in which the young are inclosed. Tlie Common Opossum (D.virginiana, Pen. (f\g. 41.) —Nearly the size of a Cat : fur, a mixture of black and white: it inhabits the whole of America, enters the "Ullages at night, and attacks poultry, devour- ing their eggs, &c. The young at birth, sometimes sixteen in number, weigh only a grain each. Al- though blind and nearly shapeless, they find the nipple by instinct, and adhere until they have at- tained the size of a Mouse, which happens about the fiftieth day, at which epoch they open their eyes. They continue to return to the pouch until they are as large as Rats. The term of uterine gestation is only twenty-six days. [Several others are known ; one of which] the Crab-eating Opossum (/J. caiini- torus), frequents the marshes of the sea-coast, where it feeds chiefly upon crabs. Other species possess no pouch, but merely a vestige of it, or fold of skin on each side of the belly. They habitually carry their young on their backs, the tails of the latter being entwined round that of the mother. [A considerable number are known, from South America.] Fi|^. 4\. — Cumninn f>pussuin. • Since writinif Ihe shove. Pr..f, nininvllle hni puhlMhed an elnlio- Tile Khmiv on the reputed Mnrmpinla of the jcronilnry dppunits vbereiii he n'dvancen llie opinion lliitl th.ic cclel.rAted fonsil renminil •P|>crt«in rather to reptilei of • higher oritniiiniion thun nny now rxlKlini;. M. Valcncienno ind Prof. Owen hnve Bubieiiuenllv iid- Tnrxrd the currently received opinion; while the firit-nanied nmu- nllsl li»i been lupporied by Dr. Grant, who Ung previously had The Yapach {Chetronecfes, Illig.j — [Is merely an aquatic Opossum, with semi-pal- mate toes.] entertained the same Idea. The qucRtion atill remains tub jtidice ; and It even a-^jpears that the obiections to either siiiutlun of the diflicuUy arc tnore wci)fhty than the arifumeiils in its favour, t There arc fifty two tetth in the newly discovered Myrmrcobiut. The multiriliration of the teeth in the Cftncta in on a dilTerent principle — Ed. Order 4. MAESUPIATA. 91 The Yapach (Did. palmata, Geof. ; Lutva memina, Bodd, fig. 42) frequents the rivers of Guiana. N AH the other Marsupials inhabit ea.«t*m ^ countries, and especially New Holland ; a land of which the mammiferous population seems even to consist principally of ani- mals of this group. [The three next genera, and probably the fourth, possess no coecum.] The Thylacines {Thylacinns, Tem.) — Are the largest of this first division : they are distinguished from the Opossums by the hind-feet having no thumb, by a hairy and not prehensile tail, and two incisors less to each jaw ; their molars are of the same number. They have accordingly forty-six teeth ; but the external edge of Fig. 42.— The Yspach. j.|jg fiij-ge large ones is projecting and trenchant, almost like the carnivorous tooth of a Dog : their ears are hairy, and of middle size. But one piving] species is known, a native of Van Diemen's Laud.— Size that of a [small] Wolf, but lower on the ic^s; of a greyish colour, barred with black across the crupper (Did. ciinocephaJa, Harris). It is very carnivorous, and pursues all small quadrupeds. [This animal does not fish, as has been stated ; nor is its tail compressed: it is pnncipally nocturnal, and is called Tiger and Hy