4th post and Physical Characteristics part one

Physical Characteristics

As we know the wild felids are a diverse group of carnivores, which encompasses a range of beasts from one and a half kilogrammes to three hundred kilogrammes in weight. We are more interested in our winged species, but to get a better understanding of this are species we need to gain a basic comprehension of the felid anatomy.

Panthera leo volatilis is similar to the domesticated cat’s anatomy and physiology despite the obvious change in scale and the addition of a pair of wings. According to Fowler & Miller’s Zoo & Wild Animal Medicine (5th edition), all members of the Felid family have a similar dental formula, this is:

Incisor 3/3, Canines 1/1, Pre-Molar 2-3/2, Molar 1/1 and totalling 28 or 30 teeth.

Does anyone know how dental formula work?

With the incisors not being specialised, the large canines, premolars and molars have to do the job of the gripping and tearing apart of the meat. On continuing an examination of the oral cavity, we can see that “an incomplete ossification of the hyoid apparatus” leads to Panthera’s ability to roar. The hyoid apparatus is the u-shaped bone in the neck that supports the tongue (the term ‘hyoid’ is derived from the Greek ‘huoeides’ – ‘shaped like the letter upsilon’); go on I dare you to have a feel with your tongue and see if you can find the apparatus. The partial ossification has led the hyoid to become partly bone like. But what does this mean to our big cat? It allows our Panthera to roar (like a lion, duh!) and limits the purring sound to the exhalation.

I remember seeing a programme in the seventies, maybe the eighties, where Percy Edwards (the animal impersonator) was on a little train going around a safari park. He used a cardboard tube, which he roared down, into a bucket to create the resonance. The lions at the safari park reacted to that sound. The domestic cat has a completely ossified hyoid apparatus and this prevents them from their true roaring potential. This is lucky in some way, but it could cause some quite comical scenes where the cats scare bejesus out of garden birds. Imagine a robin or sparrow suddenly crapping half of its live weight after being scared shitless by a roaring garden moggie.