502 POTOS. MUSTELID^E. 



length, 83; zygomatic width, 59; interorbital constriction, 21.5; 

 width of braincase, 41; palatal length, 31.5; length of upper pre- 

 molar and molar series, 20; length of lower premolar and molar 

 series, 23 ; length of mandible, front base of incisors to posterior 

 border of condyle, 61 ; height of condyle, 30; at coronoid process, 43.5. 



The family MUSTELID^; is a large one and widely distributed 

 over the earth. It is composed of many genera containing species 

 that differ greatly in structure and habits, some dwellers of the 

 plains, others of the woods, and still others which are aquatic, whose 

 home is in the rivers, lakes, and seas, from which their subsistence is 

 obtained. It is from the members of this family that the most 

 valuable furs are procured. The majority of the species are dwellers 

 in the northern parts of the earth, only a few being inhabitants of 

 the region of which this work treats. Most species of the Mustelidae 

 have the capacity of secreting, and also of discharging, sometimes to 

 a considerable distance, a fetid substance which proves a most effec- 

 tive means of defense. The glands which form the secretory appar- 

 atus are most highly developed in the Mephitina. So varied are the 

 MUSTELID^; that any arrangement of the different forms cannot be 

 otherwise than highly artificial, some of the gaps between the genera 

 being wide and important. 



Fam. VI. Mustelidse. Badgers, Weasels, Otters, etc. 



A single tubercular molar tooth on each side of both jaws; in the 

 upper molar the inner tubercular portion is longest in the antero- 

 posterior direction; bullae slightly inflated; palate extending beyond 

 the last molars; feet five-toed, plantigrade or digitigrade; no caecum. 



The Badger, representing the first genus of the subfamily, is 

 eminently a digger, and lives in a burrow from which it rarely ven- 

 tures any distance by day. Its short legs and broad, flat body give 

 it the appearance when running of almost sweeping the ground. Its 

 movements are slow, and if it imagines it can escape notice, it will 

 remain motionless, crouching as low as possible, and at such a time 

 a near approach is not impossible. The Badgers of Europe and 

 America, although they resemble each other somewhat in outward 

 appearance, differ so much in teeth and shape of skull that they can- 

 not even be included in the same genus. The American typical 

 species is an inhabitant of the more northern and western portion of 



