THE CRYPTOPROCTA FAMILY.[70]
This family contains a single animal only, so that the description of the family and of the species will be identical. It has no English name, and must, therefore, be known by its scientific appellation, which is, unfortunately, none of the most musical.
This little animal is extremely interesting, from the fact that it forms a perfect transition between the Cat family on the one hand, and the Civet family on the other. Like the Cats it has truly retractile claws; unlike them it isplantigrade, or, rather,semi-plantigrade, for it does not walk on the tips of its toes, like a Cat or Dog, neither does it keep the whole sole of the foot flat to the ground like a Bear, but the soles of both fore and hind feet are devoid of hairs, except for a short space near the ankle and heel, and it is the large hairless space which is applied to the ground in walking.
The characters of the skull are almost exactly half way between those of the two families we have mentioned. The bulb of the ear has its opening quite flush with its outer wall, but is far less swollen than in the Cats. The teeth differ from those of Cats in one important particular, namely, in the fact of there being one more premolar in each jaw.
The Cryptoprocta is about thirteen inches and a half long from snout to root of tail, the latter appendage being nearly as long as the body. The general colour is light brownish-red, this tint being produced by the individual hairs being ringed with yellow and brown alternately. The body is slender and elegantly formed. The head is also well shaped, with a pointed snout, and large rounded ears. There are five toes on each foot, and, as we have already mentioned, the claws are provided with true retractile ligaments.
This curious and interesting little animal is very rare; only one or two specimens having reached Europe. Even at the present time hardly anything is known of its internal organs. It was first brought to England forty or fifty years ago.“Mr. Telfair, President of the Mauritius Natural History Society, who presented the animal to the Zoological Society of London, received it from the interior and southern part of Madagascar, and stated that it was the most savage creature of its size he ever met with. Its motions and power and activity were those of a Tiger, and it had the same appetite for blood and destruction of animal life. Its muscular force was very great, and the muscles of its limbs were remarkably full and thick. It lived with Mr. Telfair for some months.”
AARD-WOLF.
AARD-WOLF.