Page:EB1911 - Volume 05.djvu/386

 ringed. Fur long and thick. Extra radial carpal bone moderate. The panda is a bright golden red animal, with black under-parts, ranging from the eastern Himalaya to north-western China, where it is represented by a distinct race. Fossil species occur in the later Tertiary deposits of Europe (see ).

The raccoons (Procyon) are the first and typical representatives of the American section of the family, in which an alisphenoid canal is always wanting. In this genus the dentition is i. $3⁄3$, c. $1⁄1$, p. $4⁄4$, m. $2⁄2$; total 40; the upper molars being broad and tuberculated; the upper sectorial (like that of Aeluropus and Aelurus) having three outer cusps and a broad bicuspid inner lobe, giving an almost quadrate form to the crown. First upper molar with a large tuberculated crown, rather broader than long; second considerably smaller, with transversely oblong crown. Lower sectorial (first molar) with an extremely small and ill-defined blade, placed transversely in front, and a large inner tubercle and heel; second molar as long as the first, but narrower behind, with five obtuse cusps. Vertebrae: C. 7, D. 14, L. 6, S. 3, Ca. 16-20. Body stout. Head broad behind, but with a pointed muzzle. In walking the entire sole not applied to the ground, as it is when the animal is standing. Toes, especially of the fore-foot, very free, and capable of being spread wide apart; claws compressed, curved and pointed. Tail moderately long, cylindrical, thickly covered with hair, ringed, non-prehensile. Fur long, thick and soft. The common raccoon (Procyon lotor) of North America is the type of this genus; it is replaced in South America by P. cancrivorus (see ). The cacomistles (Bassariscus) are nearly allied to Procyon, but of more slender and elegant proportions, with sharper nose, longer tail, and more digitigrade feet, and teeth smaller and more sharply cusped. The typical B. astuta is from the southern parts of the United States and Mexico, while B. (Wagneria) annulata is Mexican and Central American.

The name Bassaricyon has been given to a distinct modification of the procyonine type of which at present two species are known, one from Costa Rica and the other from Ecuador respectively, named B. gabbi and B. alleni. They much resemble the kinkajou in external appearance, but the skull and teeth are more like those of Procyon and Nasua. In the coatis, Nasua, the dentition is as in Procyon, but the upper canines are larger and more strongly compressed, and the molars smaller; while the facial portion of the skull is more elongated and narrow. Vertebrae: C. 7, D. 14, L. 6, S. 3, Ca. 22-23. Body elongated and rather compressed. Nose prolonged into a somewhat upturned, obliquely-truncated, mobile snout. Tail long, non-prehensile, tapering and ringed. Coatis, or coati-mundis, live in small troops of eight to twenty, are chiefly arboreal, and feed on fruits, young birds, eggs, insects, &c. The two best-known species are N. narica of Mexico and Central America, and N. rufa of South America from Surinam to Paraguay (see ).

In the (q.v.), an animal long known as Cercoleptes caudivolvulus, but whose designation it has been proposed to change to the unclassical Potos flavus, the dentition is i. $3⁄3$, c. $1⁄1$, p. $3⁄3$, m. $2⁄2$ = 36. Molars with low flat crowns, very obscurely tuberculated. Skull short and rounded, with flat upper surface. Vertebrae: C. 7, D. 14, L. 6, S. 3, Ca. 26-28. Clavicles present, but in a very rudimentary condition. Head broad and round. Ears short. Body long and musteline. Limbs short. Tail long, tapering and prehensile. Fur short and soft. Tongue long and very extensile.

The last existing family of the land Carnivora is that typified by the martens and weasels, and hence known as the Mustelidae. The group is characterized by the absence of an alisphenoid canal in the skull, the reduction of the molars to $1⁄2$ or even

$1⁄1$, the medium size of the sectorial tooth in each jaw, the absence or presence of a perforation in the humerus, and the presence of anal glands. The family is cosmopolitan in distribution, with the exception of Australasia and Madagascar.

The first section of the family, forming the subfamily Mustelinae, is typically characterized by the short and partially webbed toes, furnished with short, compressed, sharp, curved and often partially retractile claws. The upper molar is always of moderate size and elongated in the transverse direction. In the martens and sables (Mustela) the dentition is i. $3⁄3$, c. $1⁄1$, p. $4⁄3$, m. $1⁄2$; total 38; the upper sectorial having its inner lobe close to the anterior edge of the tooth; and the upper molar being nearly as large as the sectorial. Lower sectorial with small inner tubercle. Vertebrae: C. 7, D. 14, L. 6, S. 3, Ca. 18-23. Body long and slender. Limbs short, partially digitigrade, with the feet rounded and the toes short, with compressed, acute, semi-retractile claws. Tail moderate or long, more or less bushy. One species, M. martes, the pine-marten, is British; the remainder inhabit the northern regions of Europe, Asia and America. Many of the species, as the sable (M. zibellina), yield fur of great value (see ).

The dentition of Putorius differs from that of Mustela chiefly in the absence of the anterior premolars of both jaws. The teeth are more sharply cusped, and the lower sectorial wants the inner tubercle. External characters generally similar to those of the martens, but the body longer and more slender, and the limbs even shorter. All the species are small animals, of active, bloodthirsty and courageous disposition, living chiefly on birds and small mammals, and rather terrestrial than arboreal, dwelling among rocks, stones and out-buildings. Some of the species, as the stoat or ermine (P. ermineus), inhabiting cold climates, undergo a seasonal change of colour, being brown in summer and white in winter, though the change does not affect the whole of the fur, the end of the tail remaining black in all seasons. This is a large genus, having a very extensive geographical range throughout the Old and New Worlds, and includes the animals commonly known as weasels, polecats, ferrets and (q.v.).

In the glutton (Gulo luscus) the dentition is i. $3⁄3$, c. $1⁄1$, p. $4⁄4$, m. $1⁄2$; total 38; the crowns of the teeth being stout, and the upper molar much smaller than the sectorial. Lower sectorial large, with small heel and no inner tubercle. The dentition, though really but a modification of that of the weasels, presents a general resemblance to that of hyena. Vertebrae: C. 7, D. 15, L. 5, S. 3, Ca. 15. Body and limbs stoutly made; feet large and powerful, subplantigrade, with large, compressed, much-curved and sharp-pointed claws. Soles of the feet (except the pads of the toes) covered with thick bristly hairs. Ears very small, nearly concealed by the fur. Eyes small. Tail short, thick and bushy. Fur full, long and rather coarse. The one species, the wolverine or glutton, is an inhabitant of the forest regions of northern Europe, Asia and America, and much resembles a small bear in appearance. It is a very powerful animal for its size, climbs trees and lives on squirrels, hares, beavers, reindeer, and is said to attack even horses and cows.

The South American grison and tayra represent the genus Galictis, in which the dentition is i. $3⁄3$, c. $1⁄1$, p. $3⁄3$, m. $1⁄2$; total 34; the molars being small but stout, and the upper sectorial with the inner lobe near the middle of the inner border. Lower sectorial with heel small, and inner tubercle small or absent. Body long; limbs short, with non-retractile claws and naked soles. Head broad and depressed. Tail of moderate length. The species include the grison (G. vittata), G. allamandi, and the tayra (G. barbara); the last, which extends northward into Central America, being sub-generically separated as Galera. Nearly allied to these is the smaller and more weasel-like Lyncodon patagonicus. All the foregoing South American carnivores display a marked tendency to being darker on the lower than on the upper surface. The same feature obtains in the African and Indian ratels, or honey-badgers, constituting the genus Mellivora, distinguished from all the other members of the family by having only a single pair of lower molars, the dentition being i. $3⁄3$, c. $1⁄1$, p. $3⁄3$, m. $1⁄1$; total 32; the upper sectorial is large, with its inner cusp at the anterior end of the blade, the molar much smaller and transversely extended, having a small outer and a larger rounded inner lobe. Heel of lower sectorial very small, scarcely one-fourth of the whole length of the tooth, with but one cusp. Vertebrae: C. 7, D. 14, L. 4, S. 4, Ca. 15. Body stout, depressed; limbs short, strong; head depressed; nose rather pointed; ears rudimentary. Tail short. M. indica, from India, and M. ratel, from south and west Africa, have nearly the same general appearance and size, being rather larger than a common badger, and may be only races of the same species. Their coloration is peculiar, all the upper surface of the body, head and tail being ash-grey, while the lower parts, separated by a distinct longitudinal boundary line, are black. They live chiefly on the ground, into which they burrow, but can also climb trees. They feed on small mammals, birds, reptiles and insects, and are partial to honey.

In the Indo-Malay ferret-badger, Helictis, the dentition is i. $3⁄3$, c. $1⁄1$, p. $4⁄4$, m. $1⁄2$; total 38. Upper sectorial with a large bicusped inner lobe, molar smaller, wider transversely than in the antero-posterior direction. Lower sectorial with heel about one-third the length of the tooth. Skull elongated, rather narrow and depressed; facial portion especially narrow; infraorbital foramen very large. Head rather small and produced in front, with an elongated, obliquely truncated, naked snout and small ears. Body elongated, limbs short. Tail short or moderate, bushy. Several species are described, such as H. orientalis, moschata, nipalensis, and subaurantiaca, from eastern Asia, all small animals, climbing trees with agility and living on fruits and berries as well as on small mammals and birds.

The African striped zorilles, or Muis-honds (Ictonyx), have a dental formula of i. $3⁄3$, c. $1⁄1$, p. $3⁄3$, m. $1⁄2$; total 34; the teeth much resembling those of the polecats, and the upper molar being smaller than the sectorial, and narrow from before backwards. Lower sectorial with a smalt narrow heel and distinct inner tubercle. General form of body musteline. Limbs short, fore-feet large and broad, with five stout, nearly straight, blunt and non-retractile claws, of which the first and fifth are considerably shorter than the others. Tail moderate, with longer hairs towards the end, giving it a bushy appearance. Hair generally long and loose. The best-known species of this genus, the Cape polecat, Ictonyx capensis (or Zorilla zorilla), is about the size of a polecat, but conspicuous by its broad, longitudinal bands of dark-brown, alternating with white. Its odour is said to be as offensive as that of the American skunks. From the Cape of Good Hope it ranges as far north as Senegal. Another species, I. lybicus, from Sennaar, has been described. The small striped polecat of southern Africa, Poecilogale albinucha, represents a genus by itself, and is a shorter-haired animal.

The skunks of America are very similar to the two genera last mentioned in their colouring, and with the latter serve to form a connecting link with the more typical Mustelinae, and the badger group, or Melinae, in which the feet are elongated, with straight toes and non-retractile, slightly curved, subcompressed, blunt claws, especially large on the fore-foot. In all cases the upper molar is