Skulls of the Felicia? and Vivfrri(l;<'. 2<'7 



do not know wlictlicr or not this f;roovc marks tlio oourso of 

 the artery, althoui^h the similarity of this groove to that 

 of the Viverrida; supgcsts that it does so. The canal fre- 

 quently shows on the inside of the hnlla as an upstanding 

 ridge resembling, but relatively smaller than, that of 

 Cyno(f(ile. 



The artery enters the skull by a small narrow foramen, 

 notching the basisphcnoid where it touelies the periotic. 

 This orifice, visible in all the skulls of Felidai examined, is 

 i\\e foramen lacerum medium, and it corresponds exactly with 

 that of Viverra and Genetta ; but to discover it the bulla 

 has to be removed, because it lies deep beneath the anterior 

 end of the bulla, which at that point is immovably fused to 

 the basisphcnoid, and the only orifice at the antero-internal 

 angle of the bulla is the internal orifice of the eustachian 

 tube. 



In this connection it may be recalled that Mivart ('The 

 Cat,' p. 208, 1881) said that the minute internal carotid 

 artery enters i\\e foramen lacerum posticiim, and passes along 

 a slender canal between the basioccipital, basisphcnoid, and 

 the periotic, and enters the cranial cavity at the inner side 

 of tlie anterior end of tlie ])eriotic. This appears to be per- 

 fectly correct, but it is difficult to reconcile with his subse- 

 quent statement (P. Z. S. 1882, p. 145) that it is distinctive 

 of the Felidte as compared with the Yiverridie to have no 

 carotid foramen perforating or notching the sphenoid. 

 Nevertheless, as has been shown above, the basisphenoid is 

 penetrated by a notch by which the carotid enters the skull 

 close to the periotic in the Felidse and all the typical 

 Yiverridaj. In fact, there does not appear to be any material 

 difference between Felis and Nandinia with respect to the 

 course of this artery and the foramina connected therewith. 



Conclusion. 



The above-mentioned facts have been described in some 

 detail to show, first, the variation in the structure of the 

 carotid canal and in the situation of the foramina connected 

 with the artery in the genera referred by Mivart, Flower, 

 and others to the Viverridye, and, second, the impossibility 

 of logically drawing a line, based upon the characters under 

 notice, between the Viverridse, as understood by those 

 authors, and the Felidae. The facts may be briefly sum- 

 marized as follows : — 



(1) In the Viverridje the posterior orifice of the canal 

 may be far forwards and C)iily a short distance behind the 

 foramen lacerum uirdium (Paf/uiaa, Diplogale), or near the 



