Zöology; a textbook for colleges and universities . tigers, cats, and their rela-tives. The largest American species arethe mountain lion (or puma) and thejaguar; the latter beautifully spotted, andconfined to the tropical and subtropicalregions. (ii) Hyeznidtz. Hyenas, belonging to the Ethio-pian and Oriental regions. (iii) Viverridtf. Mongooses, civets, etc. Themongoose was introduced from the OldWorld into Jamaica to destroy the rats,which were seriously injuring the sugarcane. This it did, but it then turned itsattention to the native birds. The de-struction of the birds is supposed to hav
Zöology; a textbook for colleges and universities . tigers, cats, and their rela-tives. The largest American species arethe mountain lion (or puma) and thejaguar; the latter beautifully spotted, andconfined to the tropical and subtropicalregions. (ii) Hyeznidtz. Hyenas, belonging to the Ethio-pian and Oriental regions. (iii) Viverridtf. Mongooses, civets, etc. Themongoose was introduced from the OldWorld into Jamaica to destroy the rats,which were seriously injuring the sugarcane. This it did, but it then turned itsattention to the native birds. The de-struction of the birds is supposed to haveled to the great increase of ticks in recentyears, though it is proper to state that theticks were doubtless mostly or all intro-duced by man. The case of the mon-goose in Jamaica is therefore cited as anillustration of the danger of disturbingthe balance of nature. (iv) Mustelidtz. Martins, weasels, wolverines,badgers, skunks, and otters. The skunk,with its handsome black and white fur,illustrates the theory of warning colora-tion. 4-O2 ZOOLOGY. Photograph by E. R. Warren, Mammals of Colorado FiG. 174. Long-tailed Texas skunk (Mephitis mesomelas variant), Crested Butte,Gunnison County, Colorado. The skunk, well known for its odor, differs frommost animals in its striking black and white coloration. This is believed to bewarning coloration, enabling would-be enemies to recognize the animal easilyand, recalling former experiences, let it alone. Thayer suggests, however, that thepeculiar ornamentation breaks up the outline of the creature, as it were, and isactually deceptive or concealing. The reader may form his own opinion from thepicture. (v) Ursidce. The bears. The polar bear isplaced in a distinct genus from the brown,grizzly, and black bears. The typicalgrizzly bear described by Lewis and Clarkappears to be extinct, though relatedspecies exist in North America,(vi) Procyonidee. Raccoons; characteristicAmerican animals. The Asiatic pandais referred to the same family,(vii
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1920
