202 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. 



the portion of the orbit which it represents. It is laminar, 

 narrowing midway, stoutest near posterior root. The ante- 

 orbital foramen* is a short perforation of a thin upper plate of 

 its anterior root; behind, the glenoid fossa presents rather for- 

 ward than downward. The prominent orifice of the meatus 

 presents laterally between the root of the zygoma and the 

 mastoid, which latter is a protuberant but blunt process imme- 

 diately behind the meatus. Behind this, there is an emargi- 

 nation, terminated by the prominent downward-projecting par- 

 occipital; back of this, the semicircular outline, foreshortened, 

 of the occipital condyle appears. 



The back of the skull is a subtriangular face, flat and 

 perpendicular in general superficies, bounded above by the 

 overhanging sagittal crest; either lateral corner being the 

 prominent paroccipital, between which appear the faces of the 

 oblique condyles, the upper border of the foramen being trans- 

 verse with a slight curve. 



The skull from below shows a broad, flat, pj^latal surface for 

 about two-fifths of its total length. The palate ends about 

 opposite, or a little back of, the posterior molars. This terminal 

 shelf, representing the emargination between the pterygoid Sjls 

 always broad and quite transverse ; but the edge varies greatly 

 in detail. It is commonly transverse, with a small median, 

 backwardly-projecting point, producing a double emargination. 

 It may be simply a broad curve, or it may present a median 

 nick. The latter case is oftenest observed in specimens from 

 the West, and constituted a chief character upon which M. 

 occidentalis rested ; but, with a larger series than Prof. Baird 

 examined, it is shown to be wholly fortuitous. The general 

 shape of the palate is triangular; including the teeth, its great- 

 est width behind is about as much as its length; anteriorly, 

 it presents broad but short incisive foramina, scarcely reaching 

 opposite the molars. The depth of the pterygoid emargina- 

 tion is considerably less than the length of the palate. The 

 pterygoids are simply laminar, with strongly hamulate ends. 

 They are usually parallel, but sometimes converge a little poste- 

 riorly, making the inclosed space club-shaped. The general sur- 

 face of the base of the skull behind is quite flat, owing to slight 



*A8 a curious but not very iufrequent anomaly, this foramen is some- 

 times divided into several separate canals, through which branches of the 

 facial nerve pass out apart from each other. I have observed the same 

 thing in Conejjatus, 



