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of the external characters of Bassaris astuta, it appears to me that it 
belongs to this (the subursine) group ;” and Mr. Blyth, in the trans- 
lation of Cuvier’s Animal Kingdom, mentions the Bassaris imme- 
diately after the Cercoleptes, and in a note very justly observes, 
“Strong presumptive evidence that the Basset (Bassaris) does not 
appertain to the Viverrine group is afforded by the restriction of 
the geographic range of the latter to the eastern hemisphere in every 
other instance. The presence or absence of a cecum would decide 
the question.” Iam not aware whether this last-mentioned point 
has ever been ascertained, but from the characters presented by the 
cranium, I do not feel the slightest hesitation in referring this animal 
to the subursine group. It is true that the teeth have some resem- 
blance to those of the Viverre, but this only results from the greater 
or less development of different cusps, being an adaptation to a more 
carnivorous diet. The bony palate terminates more anteriorly than 
is usual in the Weasels, but this circumstance only depends upon the 
greater or less extension of a bony lamina, and I think is of but 
little moment : the pterygoid appendages are rather feebly developed. 
If then we constitute the Bears and Weasels one family, Urside, 
which I think the essential characters, however small they may ap- 
pear, will readily warrant us in doing, we can then avail ourselves 
of the ali-sphenoid canal and the adaptive modifications of dentition 
to subdivide it into four subfamilies, namely Ursina, including only 
the true Bears, and characterized by the presence of the ali-sphenoid 
canal, and of two true molars on each side above and three below; 
the very remarkable genus Ailurus, of India, will of itself constitute 
a second subfamily Ailurina, having also the ali-sphenoid canal, but 
only two true molars below. In the third subfamily, Procyonina, I 
would include Procyon, Nasua, Cercoleptes, and Bassaris, an entirely 
American group, distinguished by the absence of the ali-sphenoid 
canal and the same number of true molars as Ailurus; and lastly, 
the extensive group of Mustelina, characterized also by the absence 
of the ali-sphenoid canal, and having only one true molar on each 
side above and two below. 
Of the remaining groups, I have already expressed my opinion that 
the Cats and the Civets are the most nearly allied to each other. 
Among the characters which I have assigned to them will be found 
differences by which they may be distinguished from each other; but 
in the most remarkable and the greatest number of characters they 
differ chiefly in degree. To each of these has been referred in turn 
the group of Hyznas, usually considered as allied to the Cats; but 
Mr. Waterhouse urges that the Viverre have the stronger claim to 
this aberrant genus. From the characters of the cranium, I should 
consider it as rather more approaching to the Cats. In all skulls of 
the Hyzna that I have seen, the ali-sphenoid canal is wanting, although 
in the second edition of Cuvier’s ‘ Lecons d’Anatomie Comparée’ it is 
affirmed that this canal (there called the vidian canal) is present, and 
that the author possessed a skull in which it existed on one side but not 
on the other. The roundness and want of division of the auditory bulla 
and the minuteness of the canalis caroticus approximate the Hyena 
