FAMILY MUSTELID^E. 29 



FAMILY IV. MUSTELIDjE. 



Comprises small carnivorous animals, with long vermiform bodies on short feet. Neck long. 

 Ears short and rounded. Tail long, rarely bushy. Digitigrade, or walking on their 

 toes. All diffusing a strong odor, which in some genera forms a defensive weapon. In- 

 cisors, | ; canines, § ; cheek teeth, ^ = 34 - 36. 



Obs. This family embraces the animals formerly included in the old linnean genus Mustek, 

 and familiarly known in this country under the names of Mink, Skunk, Weasel and Marten. 

 They have been distributed by Cuvier into four, and by later writers into fifteen genera, in- 

 cluding nearly sixty species distributed over the globe. In this State, we have the types of 

 three genera : Mephitis, Mustek and Putorius. 



GENUS MEPHITIS. Cuvier. 



Head small, ivith a blunt muzzle and slight arched facial outline. Fur coarse and shaggy. 

 Tail bushy. Forefeet robust, with five long stout claivs. Incisors, £ ; canines, § ; cheek 

 teeth, T % = 32. Nocturnal. Burrowing. Peculiar to America. 



Obs. Were we to place reliance upon figures and descriptions, we might enumerate nineteen 

 species ; all of which are, however, considered mere varieties. 



THE SKUNK. 



Mephitis Americana, 

 plate xii. fig. ]. — (state collection.) 



Viverra mephitis. Lin. Gmel. 



Striated Weasel, and Skunk. Penn. Arct. Zool. Vol. 1, p. 83 and 85. 

 • Stifling Weasel. LosKIEL, p. 85. 



Mnsteta americana. Desmarest, Mamtn. p. 186. 



Mephitis id. Sabine, Frank. Jour. p. 653. Harlan, Fauna, p. 70. 



M. id. Godman, Am. Nat. Hist. Vol. 1, p. 213, figure. 



M. id. var. hudsonica. Richardson, F. B. A. Vol. 1, p. 55. 



Characteristics. Black or brownish black, with an irregular whitish patch or stripe over the 

 shoulders. Many varieties in its white marks. Length about two feet. 



Description. Head small, when compared to the mass of the body ; arched on its facial out- 

 line. Snout obtuse. Eyes small and black. Ears small, broad and rounded. Feet broad ) 

 and covered with hair, concealing the strong and white claws ; those on the anterior extremi- 

 ties very robust and curved. Canines strong and conical. The great carnivorous molar above, 

 with a large internal tubercle. Trunk of the tail of a moderate length, about half the length 

 of the head and body. 



