"tl6 PROCEEDINGS <>]■' THE ACADEMY OF [1893. 



typical B. astutus is very variable. I therefore propose, for the 

 Bassarisk of Northern Mexico and the United States the name 

 Bassariseus astutus flavus. Should the so-called astutus of the United 

 States and northern Mexico prove a distinct species, the small, dark 

 coast form from northern California northward (not of central and 

 southern California) should be made a sub-species of flavus. In that 

 case it should be called Bassariseus flavus oregonus. 3 It is possible 

 that Dr. Merriam has enough material in his custody to decide the 

 question at an early date. 



So far as they may now be distinguished, the Civet Cats belonging 

 to the astutus group are characterized : 



1, Bassariseus astutus (Licht.) 



Description. — Size large, fur scant and harsh. Tail vertebra' 

 longer than head and body, 14 to 16- ringed exclusive of tip, black 

 rings below interrupted by a broad, continuous mesial band. 



Upper parts of body uniform blackish gray, often tinged with 

 pale fulvous on sides of rump and belly, the black hairs of the dorsal 

 region disappearing laterally. Under parts clear gray with dirty, 

 pale yellowish suffusion. Underiur and roots of hairs ashy. A 

 roundish spot above the eye, a larger one beneath it and a semilunar 

 spot at the entrance of ear, white. Top of head, forehead, band 

 around nose and soles of hind feet, blackish. Skull large, strong 

 and angular; zygomatic fossa 1 wide and deep; post- orbital processes 

 small and deflected downwards ; rostrum broad, canines widely sepa- 

 rated ; sagittal crest well developed in adult males, frontal bones 

 narrowed and long-waisted behind the supraorbital processes; canines 

 sulcate on the inner- posterior and anterior edges above, on the 

 anterior edge below. 



Measurements. — Total length, (Jouy. ) K02 to 855, (Licht.) 850; 

 tail (Jouy) 360 to 420, (Licht.) 368; hind foot, (Jouy) 76 to 71) 

 (Licht. ) 72; length of ear (Jouy) 45 to 49, (Licht.) 34(7) ; breadth 

 of ear, (Jouy) 52 to 59, (Licht.) 25(?). 



Skull. — Total length, 82 to 87 ; greatest breadth 53-5 to 59. 

 Interorbital constriction 17" from tip to tip of postorbital processes 

 27. Taken from adult male skull. 



The above is about equivalent to a translation of Liechtenstein's 

 two original descriptions of astutus. The cranial diagnosis is chiefly 



3 The type will hv No. 1,014, Col. Academy of Natural Sciences of Phila. 



