CHAP. IX.] 



TEETH : MUSTELID^E. 



Taxidea: p, m%. 1 specimens. 

 Mellivora : p, m^. 7 specimens, 

 ilclictis p$, >n^. 6 specimens. 

 Ictonyx ( = Zorilla) : jjf, ii. 14 specimens. 



310. Lutra. The Otters for the most part have p, m|. The anterior 

 premolar of the upper jaw is a small tooth standing internal to the 

 canine, but in the common Otter its presence is most constant. In the 

 Oriental L. cinerea, and the Neo-tropical L.felina on the contrary this 

 tooth appears to be more frequently absent than present. The follow- 

 ing table gives the results of examination of a series of skulls. 



+ signifies presence, absence of p^_. 



In L. cinerea ( = leptonyx) the absence of p^ is associated with a 

 more forward position of p^, of which the anterior border is then level 

 with the posterior border of the canines 1 . 



See FLOWER and LYDEKKEE, Mammals, Living and Extinct, p. 568, Fig. 261. 



