The Royal Tiger of Bengal, His Life and Death (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated.1875 Excerpt: ... interesting. The claw and the phalanx into which it is fitted, are kept in the retracted position by an elastic ligament, which connects the two phalanges. Fig. 2. FELINE CLAW OF FORE FOCT PARTLY EXTENDED. A, Proximal phalanx. B B, Extensor-tendon, helps to exsert and steadies the claw, c, Lateral ligament, D, Fold of claw sheath, E, The claw. F, Distal phalanx, o, Flexor perforans. H, Elastic ligament. I, Second phalanx. K, Flexor perforatus. L, Annular ligament. It is unsheathed by the action of a flexor muscle (flexor profundus), which opposes the action of the ligament, and can be exerted at will. The claw phalanx when retracted by the ligament is drawn to the outer or ulnar side of the second phalanx, not on to it, the joint that connects them being so formed as to admit of this oblique action. By this arrangement the claws during ordinary progression are withdrawn, and kept out of the way, and are consequently not liable to wear or be blunted by contact with the ground. When the tiger wishes he can, by an exertion of the flexor profundus, exsert the claws and use them as formidable weapons. Owen (" Comp. Anat. and Physiol.," p. 69, 70, vol. iii.), says, "The toes of the hind foot are retracted in a different direction, viz., directly upon, not by the sides of the second phalanges, and the elastic ligaments are differently disposed." This, if it be the case in the lion and tiger and larger felidae, is not so in ocelots and other small cats, in which the arrangement is very like that of the fore foot. It may be that, as climbers, they require Fig. 3. as great strength and retractility in the hind as in the fore claws. The skeleton of the tiger is remarkable for the perfection of its mechanism. The bones are compact, dense, and strong. The trunk is compa...