lO Bulletifi American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XIV, 



neck rather long. Tarsals serial ; a lunar facet on unciform. Entocuneiform 

 deep, but remarkably short for a Creodont, not as long as the ectocuneiform. 

 Toes 5-5, the first short and stout, not opposable. Claw phalanges compressed, 

 sharp, without hood, middle phalanges asymmetrically excavated on upper side 

 of shaft (? hence claws slightly retractile). 



3. — Generic Characters. — Premolars |. Molars f . Trigonid of m^- very 

 high, with antero-external and posterior shearing surfaces. Postero-external 

 shearing blade of p^ and antero-external blade of m^- strongly developed. 



4. — Specific Characters of V. protenus and V. lepiomylus vzr. — These 

 two species are distinguished from all others of the genus by the elongate low 

 tubercular m^ with very small trigonid and very long heel. The teeth of 

 protenus and leptomylus var. show no very constant differences, but may be 

 separated more or less completely on the following characters (averaged from a 

 number of specimens) : 



The above proportions shov\^ V. protenus as 

 larger, with the premolars larger in proportion, 

 shearing blade on p-*-, 

 and ml more extended 

 transversely. The same 

 character and extent 

 of distinctions are 

 found between differ- 

 ent species of Canid^, 

 but they are much 

 more constant. 



In the skeleton some 

 striking differences in 

 ^ _ '^' proportion appear. V. 



Fig. 3. Viverravus protenus, . i- , , 



No. 2830.' Right humerus; A, protenus has limb bones 



from in front ; B, from outside. , , 



One-half natural size. Olthe SamC length aS 



V. leptomylus but aver- 

 aging nearly a third stouter (the dentition of V. 

 protenus being one fourth larger). The mod- 

 ern Civet, intermediate between the two in 

 size of skull, has limb bones one fourth 



nearly one fourth 

 somewhat longer 



Fig. 4. Viverravus 

 protenus. No. 2830, A, 

 parts of left radius and 

 ulna, from in front ; B, 

 right unciform, from 

 in front ; C, posterior 

 view, and D, distal 

 view of distal end of 

 radius. One-half nat- 

 ural size, except i?, 

 which is natural size. 



longer than the 



