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Show 104 MAMMALIA. . That of Java, L. leptonyx, Horsf. do the Do~ for huntmg. h'ter throat, and this whiteness (The Javanese Otter) has ah wdlso as to surround the eye. In 1 · d of the ea ascends on t 1e sl es . F Cuv the white on the throat, C L canensl8 r. · that of the ape, · 1 ' • ' er and more extended ; the end sides of the head and neckk lSI p~rtl 1·t. what particularly distin- . mar ec Wl l • of the nose IS even . t least at a certain age, it has no guishes it, however, lS t?alt, Ma Lesson has founded his genus . l ter onwhiCl . f nails, a c 1arac . . . a.ls however have been brought rom AoNtx. Young mdlv~du . . s to be ascertained whether the Cape that have nails; lt rem~m f the same spec1es. or not they are 0 • • • Gm (The American · Otter.) Mustela lutra bmsllz~~sz:~roat ~bite or yellowish; a little Brown or fawn-coloure 'o the body is also longer, and h E pean tter ; larger than t e uro . . . h d by the end of the nose, · It is d1stmgu1s e . the ha1r shorter. . . als but is covered w1th . . k d as 111 most amm ' wh1ch 1s not na e h f . From the rivers of both hair like the rest of the c an rm. Americas. CXXVIII ( 1) (The Sea-Otter.} Muatela lutris, L.; Schreb. · · • body much elon· f th European spec1es , Size, double that 0 e f h b dy· the hind feet very gated; tal· l one-t b1' r d the length o t e 0 ' 1 h d It bas only . · bite about t 1e ea · short. There IS sometimes w l'ke those of the other . . b 1 b t the molars are 1 four mc1sors e ow, u 1 k' fur is extremely valuable, Otters. Its blackish velvet oo mg . h . al to obtain which the English and Russ~ans hunt t e amm throughout the northern parts of the Pacific ocean. In the second subdivision of the Digitigrada t~ere are t;o fiat tuberculous teeth, behind the superior carm vorus too ' which is itself furm.s hed W.i th a 1a rge h ee1. T. hey are hcaerir· nivorous but do not exhibit a courage proportioned to .t 1 powers, ~nd frequently feed on carrion. The crecum IS a. ways small. CANis, Lin. Dogs have three false molars above, four b e1 o w, a nd two tubeerr· culous teeth behind each of the carnivori; the ~rst of t~ese. up~as tuberculous teeth 1. s very large. Tb ei· r. supeno. r cafr mhvem inufse rior only a small inner tubercle, but the posteriOr portiOn ° t (1) This figure, apparently drawn from a badly prepared s~ec imen ' pt•ae.stuernatlsis atns exaggerated resemblance to the Sea1, a C·l rcums tance by whtch som'te nw hole or· have been induced to believe it should be placed near that ~enus-l ; 796 . ganization, however, is that of the Otter. See Ev. Home, Phtl. Trans. CARNARIA. 105 is altogether tuberculous. The tongue is soft; the fore-feet have five toes, and the hind ones four. C. Jamiliaris, L. (The Domestic Dog.) Distinguished by his recurved tail, otherwise varying infinitely, as to size, form, colour and quality of the hair. He is the most complete, singular and useful conquest ever made by man ; the whole species has become his property; each individual is devoted to his particular master, assumes his manners, knows and defends his possessions, and remains his true and faithful friend till death-and all this, neither from constraint nor want, but solely from the purest gratitude and the truest friendship. The swiftness, strength and scent of the Dog have rendered him Man's powerful ally against all other animals, and were even, perhaps, necessary to the establishment of society. Of all animals, he is the only one which has followed Man through every region of the globe. Some naturalists think the Dog is a Wolf, and others that he is a domesticated Jackal, and yet those dogs which have become wild again in desert islands resemble neither the one nor the other. The wild dogs, and those that belong to savages, such as the inhabitants of New Holland, have straight ears, which has occasioned a belief that the European races, which approach the most to the original type~ are the Shepherd's Dog and Wolf Dog; but the com paris on of the crania indicates a closer affinity in the Mastiff and Danish Dog, subsequently to which come the Hound, the Pointer, and the Terrier, differing between themselves only in size and the proportions of the limbs. The Greyhound is longer and more lank, its frontal sinuses are smaller, and its scent weaker. The Shepherd's Dog and the H'olf Dog resume the straight ears of the wild ones, but with a greater cerebral development, which continues to increase together with the intelligence in the Barbet and the Spaniel. The Bull Dog, on the other hand, is . remarkable for the shortness and strength of his jaws. The small pet-dogs, the Pugs, Spaniels, Shocks, &c. are the most degenerate productions, and exhibit the most striking marks of that power to which man subjects all nature.( 1) The dog is born with his eyes closed ; he opens them on the tenth or twelfth day; his teeth commence changing in the fourth month, and his full growth is attained at the expiration of the second year. The period of gestation is sixty-three days, and from six to twelve pups are produced at a birth. The dog is (1) See Fr. Cuv. Ann. Mus. XVIII, p.333 et seq. Vot. I.-o |