Zoological Society. 413 



next. In them we still see more or less clearly the indication of a 

 pterygoid fossa, but there is never any trace whatever of the ali- 

 sphenoid canal, nor of the foramen glenoideum. The auditory bulla 

 is always full and round, even in the largest species, in which how- 

 ever, as may be expected, it is proportionally less in size : in some 

 species slight traces may still be discerned of the separation noticed 

 in the ViverrcE ; the canalis caroticus is very minute : in this group 

 the internal carotid artery itself is very small ; the canal commences 

 towards the posterior part of the auditory bulla, and never again 

 appears at the outside, the foramen lacerum anterius being quite 

 wanting. The characters of the paroccipital process are precisely 

 those of Viverra, but its extent is much less, and the mastoid is rather 

 more developed ; the foramen condyloideum is concealed, just as in 

 the Civets. 



In a brief communication published by Mr. Gray in the 'Annals 

 and Magazine of Natural History,' in which he describes a new genus 

 of Dogs under the name Cynalicus, he very justly remarks, "the 

 tubercular grinders are very variable in this tribe." I will now en- 

 deavour to point out some characters that can rather more safely be 

 depended on. The pterygoid a2:)pendages have usually a deeper pro- 

 jection than in most other members of the order, and though marked 

 with ridges on the outer side, these are scarcely sufficiently extended 

 to form a fossa : the ali-sphenoid canal is a constant characteristic 

 of the tribe ; to this I have seen no exceptions, and should consider 

 such a non-development as we have seen occasionally to occur in 

 some of the smaller and more delicately constructed Civets less 

 likely to happen among the Dog-tribe. The foramen glenoideum 

 is always present and of large size. The auditory bulla is rather 

 similar to that of the Cats, but usually a little flatter and not divided, 

 and, like that of the Cats, is a little excavated towards the hinder and 

 inner part, to form a considerable foramen lacerum posterius, in 

 which open not only the foramina for the jugular vein and the nervus 

 vagus, but the commencement of the canalis caroticus, which is of 

 considerable size, and takes a course precisely similar to that of the 

 Bear. The mastoid process is but moderately developed, but the 

 paroccipital is very characteristic ; its anterior edge is applied to the 

 auditory bulla, but instead of being at all spread out, the process is 

 laterally compressed and very salient, both in the vertical and back- 

 ward direction. The foramen condyloideum occupies a very ex- 

 posed situation, being upon the middle of a flat ridge which extends 

 between the basi-occipital and the paroccipital jirocess. 



With the addition of the Fhocidce or Seal-tribe, the divisions which 

 I have here attempted to characterize will correspond exactly to the 

 six families proposed by Mr. Waterhouse in the paper before alluded 

 to. It may however be very fairly questioned, whether a group whose 

 members are so closely connected among themselves, and differ so 

 little in essential characters, will justly admit of being divided into 

 six sections, of so high a rank as the term ' family' is usually under- 

 stood to imply. Mr. Gray, on the other hand, makes use of only 

 two families, the Felidce and the Ursidce, including among the latter, 



