192 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. 



The divisions of Jfejjhitiiuv are expressed in the following 

 diagnoses: — 



A. Teeth 34; pra. |^. Dorsal outline of skull not in one continuous 



curve. End of muzzle truncate vertically, or with little obliquity. 

 Palate ending opposite last molar (more or less exactly). (Periotic 

 region varying with the subgenera.) Corouoid process of jaw coni- 

 cal, erect, its fore and hind borders converging to a vertical apex in 

 advance of condyle. Angle of mandible not exflected. Snout not 

 notably produced nor depressed. Nostrils lateral. Tail very long 

 and very busby. Soles comparatively narrow, bairy at least in part. 

 North, Middle, but probably not South American. Genus Mephitis.* 

 jx. Skull not depressed, the dorsal outline irregularly convex, highest 

 over the orbits. Zygomata moderately arched upward, highest be- 

 hind. Postorbital processes usually obsolete. Mastoid processes 

 flaring strongly outward, much beyond orifice of meatus. Periotic 

 region not particularly inflated. Size large. Colors massed in large 



areas Suhg. Mephitis. 



b. Skull depressed, the dorsal outline approaching straightness, particu- 

 larly over the orbits. Zygomata strongly arched upward, highest in 

 the middle. Postorbital processes well developed. Mastoid pro- 

 cesses slight, scarcely produced beyond orifice of meatus. Periotic 

 region peculiarly inflated by development of mastoid sinuses, the 

 under surface swollen, and giving a quasi appearance of a second 

 bulla auditoria behind the real one Suhg. Spilogale.f 



B. Teeth normally 32; pm. ^3, sometimes, however, |5|, from presence of an 



additional minute premolar,^ corresponding to the anterior one of Me- 

 pidiis. Dorsal outline of skull one continuous curve, more or less 

 regular, from occipital protuberance to ends of premaxillaries, owing 

 to the great obliquity of truncation of the end of the rostrum, which 

 brings the profile of nasal orifice into line with that of the forehead ; 

 skull highest in parietal region. Palate produced decidedly past the 

 last molars, yet not half-way to ends of pterygoids. Periotic region 

 much as in Mephiiis proper, but the mastoids rather as in SjnJogale, 

 projecting more downward than outward. Postorbital processes 

 usually obsolete. Zygomata slightly arched upward. Corouoid pro- 

 cess of jaw sloping backward, obtusely falcate, with convex anterior 

 and concave posterior margin, the apex nearly overtopping condyle. 

 Angle of the mandible strongly exflected. Of large size, extremely 

 stout form, and somewhat Badger-like appearance. Snout strongly 

 produced, depressed. Nostrils inferior. Tail short and little bushy 

 (for this subfamily). Soles very broad, entirely naked. Coloration 

 massed in large areas. South, Middle, and (scarcely) North Ameri- 

 can Genus Conepatus.$ 



" Etyvi.—lL&t. mejjhitis, a foul or noxious exhalation. 



t ^/(/m.— Greek aKi?xH; a spot ; } n/.ri, a kind of Weasel. 



t The anterior lower premolar is said to be sometimes wanting. 



$ A barbarous word, like many other of J. E. Gray's genera, derived from 

 Conepatl or Conepate, the name of the animal in the vernacular (probably 

 Mexican) of countries it inhabits. 



