. The animals of the world. Brehm's life of animals;. Mammals. ^be 1Ro6ent6 or (3nawinG Hnimale. SEVENTH ORDER: OH E order of the Rodents or Gnawing Animals presents a class of animals with clearly defined limits. The creatures belonging to it are perhaps still more en- titled to their name than the beasts of prey 'are to theirs. The distinctive feature, common to all, is found in the fact that two incisors in each jaw are de- veloped into large gnaw- ing teeth, while the canine teeth are lacking. Little can be said about the gen- eral appearance of Rodents, as the order is rich in
. The animals of the world. Brehm's life of animals;. Mammals. ^be 1Ro6ent6 or (3nawinG Hnimale. SEVENTH ORDER: OH E order of the Rodents or Gnawing Animals presents a class of animals with clearly defined limits. The creatures belonging to it are perhaps still more en- titled to their name than the beasts of prey 'are to theirs. The distinctive feature, common to all, is found in the fact that two incisors in each jaw are de- veloped into large gnaw- ing teeth, while the canine teeth are lacking. Little can be said about the gen- eral appearance of Rodents, as the order is rich in families and species and comprises the most varied forms. The following general characteristics may be said to be found in them. The body, in the major- ity of cases, is cylindrical and is supported by short legs, usually of .unequal length, the hind-legs gen- erally being somewhat the longer, and frequently very much longer, than the fore-legs. The head is set on a short, thick neck; the eyes are large and usually very prominent, and the upper lip, which is adorned with whiskers, is fleshy, very mobile and cleft in front. The front feet, as a rule, have four toes, the hind feet five, the toes being armed with more or less strong claws and occasionally webbed. The fur is nearly always of uniform length, except that it sometimes shows tuft-like elongations at the tips of the ears or becomes bushy at the tail. Diatinctiue The gnawing teeth (incisors) are Gnawing Teeth considerably larger than any of the of Rodents. others, the upper ones being always the lower ones. Both upper and are curved, the cutting edge being broad or chisel-shaped; the base is either three or four sided, and they may be flat or arched, smooth or furrowed, of white, yellowish or red color. The external or front surface of these teeth is covered with enamel, which has the hardness of steel, and forms the sharp point or the broad, chisel-shaped cutting edge. The rest of the tooth consists of the usual tooth p
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectmammals, bookyear1895
