The Cambridge Natural History Part 31

The distribution of the Carnivora is world-wide, excluding only the Australian region, if, as seems probable, the Dingo of that region is an introduced species. The most striking features in their distribution are perhaps the following:--There are no Bears in the Ethiopian region or in Madagascar, and but a single species in the Neotropical. The only Carnivora in Madagascar are the Viverridae, and of the seven genera there found six are peculiar. The Procyonidae are nearly entirely New World in range; out of sixteen genera of Mustelidae only five are New World, and only two of those are peculiar to the American continent. The Hyaenidae are limited to the Old World.

The cla.s.sification of the Carnivora is a matter which is difficult, and which has therefore been very variously effected. It is unfortunate that the cla.s.sification of Flower (based upon the researches of H. N. Turner as well as his own, and accepted by Mivart) should fail when applied to fossil forms. For it separates with great clearness the existing genera into three great divisions, the Cynoidea, Aeluroidea, and Arctoidea, definable by visceral as well as by osteological characters. The apparent anomaly, too, of a single supposed Viverrine genus, to wit _Ba.s.sariscus_, existing in America, while all the rest of its kin are Old-World forms, was shown by his characters to be neither an anomaly nor a fact. It will be better, therefore, to divide the Carnivora into the families, Felidae, Machaerodontidae, Viverridae, Hyaenidae, Canidae, Ursidae, Procyonidae, and Mustelidae, indicating at the same time the reasons for and against retaining the three divisions of Sir W. Flower.

FAM. 1. FELIDAE.[268]--This family includes only the Cats (_i.e._ Lions, Tigers, "Cats," Hunting Leopard, etc.), and is to be distinguished by the following characters:--In the skull the auditory bulla is much inflated, and there is an internal septum; the paroccipital processes are flattened against the bullae. There is no alisphenoidal ca.n.a.l. The dental formula is I 3, C 1, Pm 3 to 2, M 1. The carna.s.sial tooth of the upper jaw has three lobes to the blade; that of the lower jaw is without an inner cusp. {391} The digits are five on the fore-feet, four on the hind. The caec.u.m is present and small. This family contains but two genera, _Felis_ and _Cynaelurus_.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

FIG. 193.--Section of auditory bulla of Tiger. _am_, Auditory meatus; _BO_, basioccipital; _e_, Eustachian ca.n.a.l; _ic_, _oc_, two chambers of bulla divided by _s_, septum; *, their aperture of communication; _Pt_, periotic; _Sq_, squamosal; _t_, tympanic ring. (From Flower's _Osteology_.)

The genus _Felis_ is very wide in its distribution, being common to both the Old and the New Worlds. Its distinctive characters, as opposed to _Cynaelurus_, are mainly the following:--The claws are retractile, and the retractility is more markedly developed than in the Cheetah. The molar is not so nearly in a line with the other teeth; the upper carna.s.sial, moreover, has an inner tubercle. The legs are relatively shorter.

The complete retractility of the claws is a very distinctive feature of the true Cats. It is brought about in this way: the terminal joint of the toe, which is clad with the claw, folds back into a sheath by the outer side of or above the middle phalanx. It is held in this position by a strong ligament. The flexor muscles straighten the phalanx which bears the claw, so that the natural position for the animal is to be in a state of retracted claws, which of course preserves them from friction; when wanted for aggressive purposes, they are pulled into sight by the action of the muscles already mentioned.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

FIG. 194.--The phalanges of the middle digit of the ma.n.u.s of the Lion (_Felis leo_). . _a_, The central portion forming the internal support to the h.o.r.n.y claw; _b_, the bony lamina reflected around the base of the claw; _ph_^1, proximal phalanx; _ph_^2, middle phalanx; _ph_^3, ungual phalanx. (From Flower's _Osteology_.)

Much has been written as to the shape of the pupil of the Cat's eye. Some careful observations upon the matter have been {392} made by Dr. Lindsay Johnson,[269] who found that out of 180 Domestic Cats 111 had round pupils, and that in 19 the shape was a pointed oval, intermediate conditions being offered by the rest. These 180 comprised males and females of many varieties. When the pupil of the Cat's eye contracts, it forms a vertical slit with two pin holes, one at each end, through which alone light appears to enter. In the Genet and the Civet the contraction of the pupil is as in the Cat. In the Lion, Tiger--in fact apparently in all the large Cats--the pupil retains its circular shape even when contraction is fully effected.

Dr. Johnson has, furthermore,[270] made some interesting experiments upon the Seal's eye--a creature which has, of course, to exert its powers of vision in two media, and from one to the other. This is effected by dilatation of the pupil when in the water, and its contraction to a vertical slit with parallel margins and rounded ends when in the air, the contraction being to some extent at least under the influence of the animal's will.

The coloration of these creatures is very varied: spots of black, or bordered with black upon a more or less tawny ground-colour, is the prevailing pattern. Stripes are also met with, as in the Tiger, but these are usually cross stripes,[271] while in the related Viverridae there are many examples of longitudinal stripes. Finally, many Cats, as for instance the Puma and the Eyra, are "self-coloured"--have, that is to say, a uniform tint. Just as the unstriped Horse sometimes shows traces of the former existence of stripes, so the self-coloured Cats are occasionally spotted when young; this is markedly so in the case of the Puma; while the Lion is spotted as a cub, and in the adult--particularly in the lioness--there are distinct indications of these spots. It is evident, therefore, that there are grounds for regarding a spotted condition to be antecedent, at least in some cases, to a uniform colour. There are divers explanations of these hues and of these changes. It is held by many that the coloration has a relation to the habits of the creature: the spotted Cats, it is pointed out, are largely arboreal; this is eminently so with the Jaguar at any rate; and in an arboreal {393} creature the spots, it is said, give the impression of flecks of sunlight broken up by foliage. On the other hand, the self-coloured Cats of a sandy to earthen hue a.s.similate in tint with a sandy or stony soil. The stripes of the Tiger, it is thought, approximate to the tall parallel stems of gra.s.ses and other plants in the dense cover in which it lives. In favour of these views is undoubtedly the fact that in other mammals and other animals belonging to quite different groups the same four plans of coloration are met with. Spots and cross stripes are found in the Marsupials; the young Tapir is spotted while the adult is self-coloured, and so forth. This last fact, however, serves to ill.u.s.trate another view which has been put forward in explanation of these characteristic markings of the Felidae. Eimer has come to the conclusion that there is and has been a regular series of steps in the evolution of these markings. The primitive condition was, he thinks, a longitudinally striped one; the stripes then broke up into spots, and the spots rearranged themselves as transverse stripes; the self-coloured Puma and Lion are a final stage in this gradual evolution. In support of this is the fact that spots precede self-coloration in the individual growth of these animals.

The exact sequence of these markings is, however, contradicted by Dr.

Haacke's observations upon a certain Australian fish which is cross striped when young and longitudinally striped when adult, a precise reversal of what ought to occur on Eimer's view.

The Felidae are almost universally distributed with the exception, of course, of Australia and a good deal of the Australian region; the headquarters of the group are undoubtedly in the tropics of the Old World.

The characteristics of a few species of the Cat tribe will now be given. As there are at any rate forty-five species, this survey will have to be somewhat incomplete.

The Lion, _F. leo_, differs from all other species by the mane of the male.

It is an inhabitant of Africa, India, and certain parts of Western Asia.

Within the historic period it ranged into Europe. According to Sir Samuel Baker those of us who have not seen the Lion in his native haunts have never seen a really magnificent specimen of the brute; but other travellers disagree, and state that a captive Lion is often a finer animal--by reason, of course, of good feeding. Unlike the majority of Cats, the Lion {394} cannot climb. His roar (which is so suggestive, towards its end, of that animal who once dressed himself up in his skin) is literally _after_ his prey. The Lion, it is stated, does not roar except upon a full stomach. The Lion is mainly nocturnal in its habits, and is said to be not in the least dangerous if unprovoked in the daytime; but here again opinions differ. The tail of the animal is provided at the extremity with a slight claw, but it can hardly be sufficient for the animal to lash itself into a fury with it.

A Lion will live for thirty or forty years, and will breed freely in captivity. The Gardens of the Zoological Society of Dublin have been famed for their success in breeding Lions; but more surprising still, this has been successfully accomplished in travelling menageries. The "desert"

colour of the Lion is familiar to all. It is stated that the likeness to the parched soil of certain parts of Africa is greatly heightened by black patches in the mane, for in certain regions of that continent the arid yellow of the general environment is diversified by pieces of black lava.

It is apparently a popular delusion to speak of the Maneless Lion of Guzerat. No doubt maneless Lions do come from there, but so do young and maneless Lions from other places; in short, it is simply a question of age, and old Lions from the Asiatic continent are as fully maned as those from Africa.

The Tiger, _F. tigris_, is an animal of about the same size as the Lion, distinguished, of course, by the stripes. The skeletons are much like those of other Cats; but the skull of the Tiger may be distinguished from that of the Lion by the fact that the nasal bones reach back beyond the frontal processes of the maxillae. The Tiger is an exclusively Asiatic beast, ranging northward into icy Siberia. The northern individuals have a closer fur, and have been quite unnecessarily separated as a distinct variety.

Nine feet six inches is the size of the average full-grown Tiger; but the skins will stretch, a fact of which the sportsman will sometimes take advantage. A "man-eater" is a Tiger which has discovered "that it is far easier to kill a native than to hunt for the scarce jungle game." As with the Lion, the accounts of travellers differ enormously, particularly with regard to the strength of the creature. Some have said that a Tiger can easily lift a full-grown bullock and leap with it in the mouth over a considerable obstacle, a statement which is ridiculed by Sir Samuel Baker.

Unlike the Lion, the Tiger can climb trees; {395} it will also voluntarily enter the water, and can swim considerable rivers.

Mr. H. N. Ridley[272] observes that Tigers "habitually swim over to Singapore across the Joh.o.r.e Strait, usually by way of the intermediate islands of Pulau Ubin and Pulau Tekong. They make the pa.s.sage at night, landing in the early morning. As so much of the coast is mangrove swamp, and the animals do not risk going through the mud, they are only able to cross where the sh.o.r.es are sandy, and thus they have regular starting- and landing-places."

The Tiger is mainly nocturnal, but begins its depredations towards five o'clock in the afternoon, before which it remains sleeping in shady thickets. If the weather is rainy and windy it becomes restless and wanders about earlier. Under the provocation of extreme hunger it will hunt during the daytime. Hunger, too, naturally produces extreme boldness. Mr. Ridley relates a story of four Tigers who walked up the steps of a house in search of the master of the house or his dog, and broke into it, the inhabitants retiring in their favour. The Malays have superst.i.tions about Tigers, which are precisely paralleled by the man-and-wolf stories of Europe. "Certain people are supposed to have the power of turning into tigers for a short time, and resuming their human form at pleasure. The transformation commences tail first, and the human tiger is so completely changed that not only has it all the actions and appearance of the tiger, but on resuming its human form it is quite unconscious of what it has been doing in the tiger state." Mr. Ridley disputes the common stories as to man-eaters. If a Tiger has once tasted human flesh it does not always confine itself afterwards to that article of diet, nor is it only aged and comparatively toothless animals which hunt man. That they do take a large toll of coolies is an undoubted fact, and many are the artifices to prevent the rest from knowing the fate of one of their fellow-workmen, or of becoming acquainted with the presence in the neighbourhood of one of the dreaded beasts.

The Leopard or Panther, _F. pardus_, is, like the Lion, African and Asiatic in range. The animal is spotted with rosettes of black spots surrounding a central field of the tawny colour of the body generally. Some of the spots are solid and black. "The {396} pantere like unto the smaragdyne" seems to be an inapt description of this Cat, unless indeed the eyes be referred to.

The ancients ascribed to it a most fragrant odour. As with the Tiger, a northern variety of this Carnivore has a closer and longer fur. There is a tendency towards melanism in this animal, the black Leopard being comparatively common, particularly, it appears, in high lands. Several other variations in colour are known. These have received different specific names; but it seems that there is in reality but one species of Leopard. The Leopard can climb with the agility of any Cat. Sir S. Baker reserves the name Panther for large Leopards, which reach a length of 7 feet 6 inches. But there is no valid distinction between any two such varieties. The Leopard is as ferocious as the Tiger; and Sir Samuel Baker advises that the power of the human eye be not experimented with when meeting unarmed one of these brutes.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

FIG. 195.--Snow Leopard. _Felis uncia._ 1/20.

The Snow Leopard or Ounce, _F. uncia_, is a beautiful creature, confined to the highlands of Central Asia. The ground-colour is white, and the spots are larger than those of the ordinary Leopard. Two examples of this rather rare Carnivore have been recently on view in the Zoological Society's Gardens, London. The Clouded Leopard, _F. nebulosa_, is an animal of considerable size (6 feet total length). {397}

The Fishing Cat, _F. viverrina_, of India and China, is about 3 feet 6 inches including the tail. Its black spots upon a grey-brown ground have a tendency to form longitudinal lines. It is in fact, on Eimer's theory, a case of longitudinal stripes breaking up into spots. It differs from the bulk of Cats by preying upon fish, though it is not known how it catches them. It also feeds upon the large snail _Ampullaria_. In addition to these there are twenty-four species of Cats found in the Old World, mainly in the Oriental region, of small to moderate size.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

FIG. 196.--European Lynx. _Felis lynx._ 1/12.

The European Lynx, _F. lynx_, has rather long legs, a short tail, and tufted, pointed ears. It has only two premolars in the upper jaw instead of the usual three. It seems to be doubtful whether the Asiatic Lynx can be distinguished from the European, but the Spanish form, _F. pardina_, does appear to be distinct. The Common Lynx, sometimes called _F. canadensis_, also ranges into America, where some other forms exist, known by the specific names of _F. rufa_ and _F. baileyi_.

In America there are altogether sixteen species of Cats, if we allow three species of Lynx, none of which, however, does Dr. Mivart allow to be different from the European and Asiatic Lynx (_F. lynx_). {398}

The largest of American Cats is the Jaguar, _F. onca_. This is an arboreal creature with a long, heavy body and short limbs. Its pelage is much like that of the Leopard, but the spots are larger and more definitely arranged in groups. There are a number of distinct rows of spots. The length of the body alone is not greater than 4 feet. They prey very largely on the Capybara, and upon turtles, which they surprise upon the sand when about to lay their eggs; the reptiles are turned upon their backs, so as to be incapable of escaping, and the Jaguar then easily devours them. The Jaguar will even pursue the turtle into the water, and will devour its eggs and the newly-hatched young.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

FIG. 197.--Jaguar. _Felis onca._ 1/15.

The Ocelot is another spotted American Cat. _F. pardalis_[273] ranges from Arkansas in North America southwards, its range corresponding with that of the Jaguar. Although small for one of the "larger cats," the Ocelot inspired with considerable respect Captain Dampier, who remarked of it: "The Tigre-cat is about the bigness of a bull-dog, with short truss, body shaped much like a mastiff, but in all things else, its head, the colour of its hair, the manner of its preying, much resembling the {399} tigre, only somewhat less.... But I have wisht them farther off when I have met them in the woods; because their aspect appears so very stately and fierce."

[Ill.u.s.tration]

FIG. 198.--Ocelot. _Felis pardalis._ 1/10.

The Puma, _F. concolor_, the American Lion as it is called in the north, is a rather smaller animal than the last, and of a uniform tawny colour, tending to white on the abdomen and to a dark stripe along the back. The young, as already mentioned, are very distinctly spotted. Like the Tiger, the Puma can endure extremes of heat and cold; it is equally at home in the snow of North America and among the tropical forests and swamps of the south. It is a ferocious creature so far as concerns Deer, Lamas, Racc.o.o.ns, even Skunks and Rheas, but, according to Mr. W. H. Hudson, will not attack man, and will even defend him against the Jaguar.[274] In captivity the Puma will purr like a Cat.

The Eyra, _F. eyra_, is another self-coloured American cat, which has a curious likeness to the totally distinct _Cryptoprocta_ of Madagascar.

The Wild Cat of Europe, _F. catus_, is found over the greater part of Europe, and also in Northern Asia. It was undoubtedly common at one time in this country, though it appears never to have extended its range into Ireland. But the real Wild Cat is now rare in this island, and is confined to certain districts in {400} Scotland. Plenty of alleged wild Cats have been seen and even shot; but these are too frequently merely feral Cats, _i.e._ domestic tabbies which have reverted to a hunting life. The real Wild Cat differs from the domestic races by the proportionately longer body and limbs, the shorter and thicker tail; the pads of the toes are not quite black. The period of the gestation of the Wild Cat, according to Mr. c.o.c.ks, is a week or so longer than that of any domestic Cat.

The Domestic Cat is in fact regarded as the descendant of the Eastern _F.

caffra_, or (perhaps _and_) the closely-allied _F. maniculata_. It is highly probable, however, that after introduction into this country as a domestic animal it has interbred with the Wild Cat. Many allied species of Cats will interbreed, even two so far apart as the Lion and the Tiger.

There are interesting archaeological and linguistic reasons for regarding the Domestic Cat as an importation. The legend of d.i.c.k Whittington's Cat points to it being a rare and valuable animal, which a tamed _F. catus_ would not at that time have been. There was an enactment in Wales of a penalty against him who should kill the king's Cat, again suggestive of its rarity and consequent value. The very name "Puss" is a hint of a foreign origin. Some would derive it from Perse, and upon this is based the notion that the Cat is from Persia. But it seems that Puss is the same as Pasht and Bubastis, showing so far an Egyptian origin for the animal. The ancestral Cats mentioned above are natives of Egypt.[275]

The genus _Cynaelurus_, which includes but a single species, _C. jubatus_, the Cheetah or Hunting Leopard, is separated from _Felis_ by a number of characters. In the first place the claws are non-retractile, or at least less retractile than those of the true Cats. It is, moreover, longer legged. The molar is more in a line with the other teeth of the jaw, and the upper carna.s.sial tooth has no inner tubercle. Messrs. Windle and Parsons have lately pointed out many Dog-like features in the muscles. This animal is about as large as a Leopard, but has plain black spots. As its vernacular name implies it is used for sport, and is quite easily tameable.

It will purr like the Puma. The Cheetah occurs in India, Persia, Turkestan, and also in Africa; the latter {401} form is sometimes, though quite unnecessarily, separated as _C. lanigera_. The genus occurs fossil in the Siwalik deposits of India, the species being known as _C. brachygnatha_.

FAM. 2. MACHAERODONTIDAE.--This is a family of totally-extinct Cats which range from the Eocene down to the Pleistocene. Their general structure is like that of the Felidae; but they differ in a number of skeletal features.

Thus there is an alisphenoid ca.n.a.l, and, as in Bears, there is a postglenoid foramen. There is also a distinct carotid foramen, which does not occur in the true Cats. The teeth are often distinguished by the huge size of the superior canines, which are "weapons for penetrating wounds, without rival among carnivorous animals." These must have been displayed at the sides of the chin when the mouth was closed, and it has even been suggested that the animal possessing these exaggerated canines could hardly have properly closed its mouth. The lower canines were often on the contrary much reduced, and in fact incisor-like. In tracing the series of these Cats we find a gradual reduction of the teeth from a more nearly complete number down to the specialised dent.i.tion of the existing Cats. The genus _Proaelurus_, Miocene in range, had four premolars in each jaw, and two molars in the lower and one in the upper. This is the greatest number of teeth found in any member of the group.

The resemblance of this genus to _Cryptoprocta_ has been insisted upon.

_Archaelurus_ has suffered a reduction, since one premolar in the lower jaw has disappeared, its formula being thus I 3/3 C 1/1 Pm 4/3 M 1/2. The next stage is shown by _Dinictis_ with three premolars in both jaws. There are a good many species of this genus which are all American and Miocene. This genus has five toes upon the hind-feet, and was probably plantigrade. It had retractile claws.

In the genus _Nimravus_ the dental formula is still further reduced.

Another premolar of the lower jaw has gone, the formula being thus I 3/3 C 1/1 Pm 3/2 M 1/2. _Nimravus gomphodus_ was a Carnivore about the size of a Panther. It has no third trochanter upon the femur, which process is present in the corresponding bone of _Dinictis_. _Pogonodon_ was an equally large animal in which the premolars were three in each jaw, but the molars have become reduced to one in the lower, as they have in this and other genera in the upper {402} jaw. Finally, _Hoplophoneus_ has acquired the dent.i.tion of existing Cats.

The Machaerodons, however, show examples with a yet more reduced dent.i.tion than that of the most reduced existing Cat, viz. the Lynx, which has only two premolars in each jaw and one molar. In _Eusmilus_ the molar in both jaws is single, and there is but one premolar in the lower jaw.