308 CARNIVORA. 



GENUS MEPHITIS. 



Wc cannot affirm that any member of the Mustelidae is truly sweet- 

 smelling ; we have described the Foumart and Polecat, the Teledu and 

 tlic Zoriila, but what are they beside our native Skunk? The animals 

 lorming tiie tivclvc species ol this genus are exclusively American, and 

 are found from Canada to the Straits of Magellan. They are distin- 

 guished from their nearest relations, the Badgers, by a slenderer body, 

 a long bushy tail, a black ground color, with white marks. The head is 

 small, tlic nose hairless and thick, the eyes small and sharp, the ears 

 short and round, the legs are sliorf, the feet large, witii live toes pro- 

 vided with long weak claws. The number of teeth is thirty-two. Kach 

 of tiie mepiiitic glands contains a space the size of a nut, and is provided 

 witli a strong muscle. Tliis space is filled with an oil-like fluid, which 

 by contracting the muscle can be ejected in a narrow stream which is 

 gradually resolved into si)ray. The odor is stronger when tlie animals 

 are old, especially with the male sex. 



The SuklLllo, ATc'p/iitis suffoctuis, inhabits Brazil, and attains a length 

 of sixteen inches in the body. The hair is thick, long, and abundant; it 

 is short on the snout, but gradually grows longer till it attains a length 

 of nearly three inches on the tail. Two white stripes run from a point 

 on the forehead to the root of the tail, at times widening so that the 

 space between them is reduced to a mere line; the tail has a white tip. 



The Suriliio lives in tlie plains, and avoids the thick jjrimeval forest, 

 haunting the clumps of trees that are found in the campos. Its presence 

 can be discovered by a small funnel-shaped hole which it makes in the 

 ground. It is a nocturnal animal, and lives on insects. 



THE SKUNK. 



The Common Skunk, Mephitis mcphitica (Plate XIX), has a broad 

 fleshy body, with a small head and short legs. This species varies so 

 much in color, that there is some difficulty in finding two specimens 

 alike, but, speaking generally, we may say that there is a narrow white 

 stripe commencing on the nose and running to a point on the top of the 

 head ; a patch of white, two inches in length, covers the upper part of 



