20 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. 



I fail to note, in the fignre or description, any decided dififerences 

 in dentition from SpilogaJe. In fine, it may be questioned 

 whether •' Galera perdicida " is even specifically distinct from 

 Spilogale piitorius. The fossil was found, it will be remembered, 

 amongst remains of numerous species not distinguishable from 

 recent ones.* 



ON THE DERIVATION AND SIGNIFICATION OF THE NAMES 

 APPLIED TO THE MUSTELID^. 



To treat of this interesting topic I cannot, perhaps, do better 

 than give a version of Dr. E. von Martens's article, Ueber 

 Thiernamen,f so far as it relates to the animals of the present 

 family. This valuable article, as it seems to me, places the 

 subject in a clear light, and gives, in a sufficiently concise and 

 convenient form, just the information that is required for an 

 understanding of the etymology and philological bearing of 

 the names used in various languages to designate the species 

 of Mustelidw. Study of this subject, which is sadly neglected 

 in ordinary zoological writings, is essential to the proper appre- 

 ciation of the technical or binomial names ; the older ones being, 

 as will be seen, not necessarily of Greek or Latin origin, as 

 commonly assumed. Thus, for instance, the generic name Gulo 

 comes simply by translation into Latin of the Scandinavian 

 and Russian names, which refer to the voracity of the animal. 



Dachs [Meles vulgaris]. — For this remarkable animal, no 

 Greek name can be determined with certainty, although it is 

 stated by late investigators, as Fiedler and Lindenmeyer, to ex- 

 ist in Greece ; for it is at least a hazardous interpretation to 

 identify the species with the rpoyoq^ " runner ", of which Aris- 

 totle (Gen. 3, 0) speaks on the authority of Herodorus of 

 Heraklea. The Latin Meles of Pliny, 8, 38, b^^ is decidedly 

 more certain : siifflaUe cutis distentu ictus honmium et morsus 

 cauum arcent ; the Badger, of course, does not inflate its skin, 

 but, nevertheless, its thick hide enables it to withstand bites and 

 blows. Less pertinent is a passage in Varro De Re Rust. 3, 12, 

 3, where maelis is written. Isidor of Sevilla (seventh century 



* Some time after the foregoing was ^vrittelJ, I addressed to Professor Cope 

 a note on the subject, stating my views ; and in reply I learned that Professor 

 Cope " had for some time suspected " that the animal was a Mephitis. 



t " Ueber Thieruamen." Von E. von Martens in Berlin. In : Der Zoolo- 

 gische Garten ; the portions relating to the Mustelida', here translated, being 

 at pp. -251-256 and pp. 275-231 of Jahrg. (or vol.) xi (1870). 



