Search the Dictionary

An extinct genus of Tertiary mammals allied to the horse, but three-toed, having on each foot a small lateral hoof on each side of the main central one. It is believed to be one of the ancestral genera of the Horse family.

A large, amphibious, herbivorous mammal (Hippopotamus amphibius), common in the rivers of Africa. It is allied to the hogs, and has a very thick, naked skin, a thick and square head, a very large muzzle, small eyes and ears, thick and heavy body, and short legs. It is supposed to be the behemoth of the Bible. Called al…

er writers using the term homoplasmy). Thus, there is homogeny between the fore limb of a mammal and the wing of a bird; but the right and left ventricles of the heart in both are only in homoplasy with each other, these having arisen independently since the divergence of both groups from a univentricular ancestor.…

Any carnivorous mammal of the family Hyænidæ, of which three living species are known. They are large and strong, but cowardly. They feed chiefly on carrion, and are nocturnal in their habits. [Written also hyæna.]

art of the hyoid arch, as in fishes, instead of directly articulated with the skull as in mammals; -- said of the skull.

An order of small hoofed mammals, comprising the single living genus Hyrax.

Any carnivorous mammal of the genus Herpestes, and family Viverridæ. Numerous species are found in Asia and Africa. The Egyptian species(H. ichneumon), which ranges to Spain and Palestine, is noted for destroying the eggs and young of the crocodile as well as various snakes and lizards, and hence was considered sacred…

A mammal having no placenta.

A primary division of the Mammalia, including the monotremes and marsupials, in which no placenta is formed.

cava. Innominate bone (Anat.), the great bone which makes a lateral half of the pelvis in mammals; hip bone; haunch bone; huckle bone. It is composed of three bones, ilium, ischium, and pubis, consolidated into one in the adult, though separate in the fetus, as also in many adult reptiles and amphibians. -- Innominate…

An order of mammals which feed principally upon insects.

athing in; breath; specif. (Physiol.), the drawing of air into the lungs, accomplished in mammals by elevation of the chest walls and flattening of the diaphragm; -- the opposite of expiration.

to the lunar in the carpus, and to a part of the astragalus in the tarsus of man and most mammals.

A nocturnal carnivorous mammal (Cercoleptes caudivolvulus) of South America, about as large as a full-grown cat. It has a prehensile tail and lives in trees. It is the only representative of a distinct family (Cercoleptidæ) allied to the raccoons. Called also potto, and honey bear.

A small mammal (Hyrax Capensis), found in South Africa. It is of about the size of a rabbit, and closely resembles the daman. Called also rock rabbit.

A giving suck; the secretion and yielding of milk by the mammary gland.

The soft woolly hair which covers most parts of the mammal fetus, and in man is shed before or soon after birth.

ween them. The larynx is connected with the pharynx by an opening, the glottis, which, in mammals, is protected by a lidlike epiglottis.

One of a family (Lemuridæ) of nocturnal mammals allied to the monkeys, but of small size, and having a sharp and foxlike muzzle, and large eyes. They feed upon birds, insects, and fruit, and are mostly natives of Madagascar and the neighboring islands, one genus (Galago) occurring in Africa. The slow lemur or kukang of…

A large, savage, carnivorous mammal (Felis leopardus). It is of a yellow or fawn color, with rings or roselike clusters of black spots along the back and sides. It is found in Southern Asia and Africa. By some the panther (Felis pardus) is regarded as a variety of leopard. Hunting leopard. See Cheetah. Leopard cat (Zoö…