AFFINITIES OF ^LUROPUS MELANOLEUCUS. 167 



three forms the metaconid is placed immediately on the inner side of the protoconid, 

 instead of partly behind it. 



We have, thenrCorc, tlie important fact that ^Elttrm and ^EluropHs resemhh' the 

 American Procyonidte, and thereby differ from all otlier Carnivora, in the presence of two 

 lobes, or cusps, on the inner or tubercular jjortion of the upper carnassial. And since 

 ^Elurus has been referred by Mr. Blantord to tiie Proeyonida;, there is a pr/md facie 

 presumption that yEliiropiis, in spite of its reteiitiou of the third lower molar, is likewise 

 a member of the saint; family. 



'rurniiiii' for cotilirinatory evidence first to the external features of the animal, it may 

 be noticed that the type of coloration is essentially unlike that obtjiining in the Ursidai, 

 although a superficial approximation is presented by some specinu>ns of Ursus pruinosux. 

 On the other hand, if tlie coloration of ^Eluropus be compared with tliat o[\EJ/nnift, there 

 are certain similarities in the general plan. In both, for example, the limbs are black; 

 and tlie l)lack ring round the eye of the former corresjjonds to iIh; chest nut streak runnin" 

 through the same organ in the latter. The fur, too, of Ixtth animals is likewise very 

 similar in character, being comparatively sleek and smooth, and unlike the shaggy coat 

 of so many of the Bvav tribe. Of more importance is the form and expression of the face, 

 which in both animals is short, broad, and cat-like, entirely lacking the prolonged snout 

 characteristic ot the Bears. The ears, too, are strikingly alike in both genera ; and the tail, 

 although still very sliort, is longer in ^Eltiropus tlian in any Bear. The points in which 

 the feet of the former differ from those of the latter arc referred to in the above extract 

 from Sir William Flower's description of the genus. 



As regards the features in which the skull of ^Elaropus rcsemldes that of ^Elurm and 

 differs from those of the Bears, mention had been made by Professor ^lilne-Edwards, and 

 before him by Professor P. Gervais, of some of the most important of these. 



Botli agree in their relative shortness, wide zygomatic arches, convex profile, and 

 curvature of the inferior margin of the lower jaw, as well as in the great elevation, for- 

 ward inclination, and hook-like shape of the coronoid jnocess of the latter. The en(jrmous 

 development of the sagittal crest in ^Elnropus causes the convexity of the profile to be 

 more marked than in ^Elurus. The ^Eliiropiin skull differs from that of ^Eliirun in the 

 absence of postorliital processes to the frontals, and likewise by tlie non-prolongation of 

 the palate behind tlie last molar. In the presence of such, processes and the jirolonga- 

 tion of the palate, ^Eluriis is the more bear-like of the two, although it has no post- 

 orbital process on the zygoma. On the other hand, ^Eluropus approximates to the 

 Raccoon in the absence of postorbitiil processes on the frontals, although tlu; Baccoon 

 retains the one on the zygoma. Although by no means so short and wide, the skull of the 

 Raccoon, especially in its profile, is more like those of yElurm and ^Elnmpus than is a 

 Bear's skull A point of resemblance between ^Eluropus and Vrsua is to be found in the 

 circumstance that the maxillary foramen opens on the side of the skull well in advance 

 of the zygomatic root, whereas in ^^(f«?-;w and l'roc?/on it perforates the zygoma itself. 

 As Professor Milne- Edwards has pointed out that in .Eiuropus a depression in the bone 

 indicates the position of the alisjihenoid canal, the absence of the canal itself cannot be a 

 feature of any great morjiliological importance. 



