. The animal creation: a popular introduction to zoology. Zoology. DIGITIGRADE CAENIVOEA. 543 skull is short and rounded, and beset externally with long ridges, for the attachment of powerful muscles ; their jaws, which are short, and of great strength, are furnished with teeth few in number, but of the most trenchant and formidable character, and move upon each other with a vertical cutting action. Their tongue is covered with numerous horny spines, set in close array, and directed backwards, so as to form a kind of rasp, with which the animal scrapes the flesh on which it is feeding from the
. The animal creation: a popular introduction to zoology. Zoology. DIGITIGRADE CAENIVOEA. 543 skull is short and rounded, and beset externally with long ridges, for the attachment of powerful muscles ; their jaws, which are short, and of great strength, are furnished with teeth few in number, but of the most trenchant and formidable character, and move upon each other with a vertical cutting action. Their tongue is covered with numerous horny spines, set in close array, and directed backwards, so as to form a kind of rasp, with which the animal scrapes the flesh on which it is feeding from the bones. The mechanism whereby the points of the claws are kept from injiuy is extremely beautiful. Every one who has handled the velvet paws of a Cat is aware that, in its ordinary condition, the claws are quite concealed, but that, at the will of the animal, they are forcibly thrown forwards. This is accomplished in the following manner : —The last joint of each toe, the end of which is encased. Fig. 467.—toe of lion; a, with the claw extended; h, c, without the skin, retracted and extended. by the claw, is, wdien at rest, drawn back, either upon or at the side of the preceding joint, by the force of two elastic bands, as represented in the accompanying figure (Fig. 467 h) ; from this position, however, it is plucked in an instant by the tendon which bends the toe, and w'hich is attached to the base of the claws (Fig. 467 c), so that it is protruded ready for action (Fig. 467 a); when the eon- traction ceases, the claw again springs back to its place, and lies concealed beneath the hair at the back of the foot. The silent tread of the Cats is partly owing to this structure, and partly to the elastic pads with which. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Jones, Thomas Rymer, 1810-1880. London :
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Keywords: ., bookauthorjo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, booksubjectzoology
