433 



HELICTIS AND 1CTONYX 



hardly to be distinguished from each other. The ears are very 

 minute. The tail is short. The muzzle is rather pointed, and 

 the soles and palms are naked. 



FIG. 222. Ratel. Mellivora capensis. x J. 



The structure of Helictis has been described by the late 

 Professor Garrod, 1 as well as by Sir W. Flower in his general 

 account of the Carnivorous skeleton. The animal, which is a 

 native of East Asia, is sometimes gaily coloured. If. subaurantiaca, 

 the species dissected and figured by Garrod, is a varied black and 

 orange. The genus is arboreal, and the tail may be moderately 

 long and bushy. The ears are small ; the nose is grooved ; the 

 palms are naked, but the soles of the feet are hairy. There are 

 fourteen dorsal vertebrae. The molar formula is Pm M }. 



The Zorilla, Ictonyx, is the last of the Old-World genera of 

 Melinae. It is African, ranging from the tropical parts of the 

 continent to the Cape. " In colour and markings," remarks Dr. 

 Mivart, " as well as in the odour of the secretion of its anal 

 glands, the one or two species which form this genus resemble 

 the skunks ; so much so that did they inhabit the same region, 

 and were they devoid of an offensive secretion, they would 

 certainly be said to mimic the skunks." The molar formula of 

 the genus is Pm | M |. There are fifteen dorsal vertebrae. The 

 nose is grooved and the soles partly hairy. 



The American Badger, Taxidea, is a burrower of omnivorous 

 tastes, and correlated with the former habit are the immense 

 1 Proc. Zool. Hoc. 1879, p. 305. 



