SKELETON OF CARNIVORA. 501 



developes a long angular process, so, which rises toward the 

 condyle. 



In the Racoon {Procyon), and Coati (Nasua), the entocarotid 

 pierces the inner border of the tympanic bulla : there is no ecto- 

 carotid canal. The mastoid is thicker than the paroccipital. 

 The bony tentorium terminates upon the petrosal above the 

 shallow depression of the cerebellar appendage. The upper cra- 

 nial parietes are moderately thick and with a diploe. In the 

 Coati the olfactory chamber, with the superior turbinals, extends 

 above the whole rhinencephalic fossa, and forms in part the 

 frontal elevation of the cranial contour. In the Benturong 

 (Ailurus), the ectocarotid perforates the pterygoid, as in Bears. 



The skull of the Badger {Meles taxus) is chiefly remark- 

 able for the closeness with which the transverse condyles of the 

 lower jaw are grasped by the borders of the articular grooves at 

 the base of the zygomatic processes, so that the mandible cannot 

 be disarticulated without some violence. The lateral sinus termi- 

 nates behind the glenoid cavity, as in other UrsidcB, and the sub- 

 petrosal sinus terminates at the entocondyloid foramen. There is 

 no ectocarotid canal. 



In Ratelus the transversely extended base of the paroccipital 

 is applied to the back part of the bulla. In the Glutton ( Gulo) 

 the cranial cavity is less expanded posteriorly, and less constricted 

 anteriorly, than in the Ratel. There is a smooth articular sur- 

 face in the basioccipital, but it is less distinctly continuous with 

 the occipital condyles than in the Ratel. The zygomatic arches 

 are larger, stronger, and more curved : the palate is relatively 

 broader : both the paroccipital and the mastoid processes are 

 feebly developed. 



In the Stoats and Weasels {Piitorius), the meatus auditorius is 

 an oblique perforation in the lateral and inferior parietes of the 

 skull, directed from within outAvard and forward, and not pro- 

 duced upon an auditory process. The bulla tympanica is very 

 extensive. The bony tentorium, which projects rather from the 

 upper than the back wall of the cranium, terminates upon the 

 back part of the petrosal, above the deep circular pit for the cere- 

 bellar appendage. The rhinencephalic fossa is less distinctly 

 defined than in Plantigrades from the rest of the cranial cavity ; 

 the olfactory chamber extends backward both above and beneath 

 that fossa, causing the cranium to appear dilated at that part ; the 

 air must be filtered, as it were, through the complex turbinals 

 before passing into the canal of the posterior nares. 



In the Otter (^Lutra), a narrow articular surface upon the basi- 



