DESCRIPTION OF CONEPATUS MAPURITO. 251 



the root of the tail. The head is more lengthened and nar- 

 rowly conical than in Mephitis. The facial aspect is highly 

 characteristic in the production and attenuation of the snout 

 and lowuess of the ears. The long snout is broad and de- 

 pressed on top, obliquely truncated in front, with a backward 

 bevelling, so to speak, which brings the nostrils antero-infe- 

 rior — they are not at all visible from above. The muzzle is 

 almost a little retrousse, and recalls that of a Pig rather than 

 of a Weasel or Badger. It is furthermore peculiar in being 

 entirely bald and callous on top for nearly an inch, this naked 

 part narrowing to a point behind. Underneath, the nasal pad 

 is closely and definitely circumscribed by the line of fur which 

 closely approaches the nostrils. There is no sign, on the front 

 of the snout, of the usual vertical groove, nor of such a division 

 of the hairy part thence to the middle line of the lips. The 

 organ looks as if it were fitted for rummaging among fallen 

 leaves, or even for '^ rooting" in the ground. The whole muzzle 

 is beset with sparse short bristles, apparently growing irregularly 

 in no determinate direction; the longest moustaches scarcely 

 reach to the eyes. There are similar bristles over the eyes and 

 on the cheeks and chin. The proper pelage of the cheeks and 

 snout is scanty, and it grows upward and forward from the lips. 



The external ears are so slightly developed that they have 

 been described as wanting. The pinna is a mere low orbicular 

 rim completing about two-thirds of a circle, lower than the 

 surrounding fur. The entrance of the ear remains broadly 

 open. The eye is considerably nearer to the ear than to the 

 end of the snout. The mouth is wholly far inferior, with short 

 gape ; it is nearly an inch from the end of the lips to the ex- 

 tremity of the snout. 



The short and rather close-haired (for this group) tail is quite 

 different from the long, full, bushy member in Mepliitis and 

 Spilogale — in fact, it is only superior in these respects to the 

 stumpy tail of Taxidea. It is difficult to estimate its relative 

 length accurately, owing to the character of the base; but the 

 vertebrae are certainly less than half the length of the head 

 and body, and with the hairs the whole member is only about 

 half such dimension, more or less. The terminal pencil of hairs 

 is from only about two to four or five inches in length, in dif- 

 ferent specimens; the width of the hairs in the middle, pressed 

 flat sideways, is from six to ten inches. The tail, especially 

 when white, or the white portion of it when black and white, 



