form of the skull it would seem impossible to
determine the family to which this animal belongs. In effect the head
differs considerably from the _Ursidae_ and the _Mustelidae_, and
presents certain resemblances to that of the hyaena; but there are
numerous and important particulars which indicate a special
zoological type, and it is only by an inspection of the dental system
that the natural affinities of the _Ailuropus_ can be determined.

In the upper jaw the incisors are, as usual, in three pairs. They
are remarkable for their oblique direction; the centre ones are small
and a little widened at the base; the second pair are stronger and
dilated towards the cutting edge; the external incisors are also
strong and excavated outside to admit the canines of the lower jaw.
The canines are stout, but short, with a well-marked blunt ridge down
the posterior side, as in the Malayan bears.

The molars are six in number on each side, of which four are premolars,
and two true molars. The first premolar, situated behind, a little
within the line of the canine, is very small, tuberculiform, and a
little compressed laterally. The second is strong and essentially
carnassial; it is compressed laterally and obliquely placed. It is
furnished with three lobes: the first lobe is short, thick, and
obtuse; the second is raised, triangular and with cutting edges; the
third of the size of the first, but more compressed--in short, a
double-fanged tooth. This molar differs considerably from the
corresponding tooth of the bear by its form and relative development,
since in that family it is one-fanged, very low and obtuse. On the
contrary, it approaches to that of the hyaenas and felines. With the
panda (_Ailurus fulgens_) the corresponding premolar is equally
large, double-fanged and trenchant, but the division in lobes is not
so marked.

The third or penultimate molar of the _Ailuropus_ is larger and
thicker than the preceding, divided in five distinct lobes--three
outer ones in a line, and two less projecting ones within.

The last premolar is remarkably large; it is much larger behind than
in front, and its crown is divided into six lobes, of which five are
very strong; the three external ones are much developed and trenchant,
the centre one being the highest and of a triangular shape. Of the
internal lobes, the first one is almost as large as the external ones;
the second is very small, almost hidden in the groove between the
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