198 



GEOGRAPHICAL ZOOLOGY. 



[PART iv. 



caverns in many parts of Europe, and several extinct species 

 have been found in Tertiary deposits in Europe, North India, 

 and South America. Two species have been found so far back 

 as the Eocene of France, but the fragments discovered are not 

 sufficient to determine the characters with any certainty. In 

 North America, several species of Canis occur in the Pliocene of 

 Nebraska and La Plata. The genus Galecynus, of the Pliocene 

 of (Eninghen, and Palceocyon, of the Brazilian caves, are sup- 

 posed to belong to the Canidse. Amphicyon abounded in the 

 Miocene period, both in Europe and North America ; and some 

 of the species were as large as a tiger. Other extinct genera 

 are, Cynodictis, Cyotherium, and Galefhylax, from the Eocene 

 of France; Pseudocyon, Simocyon, and Hemicyon, from the 

 Miocene ; but all these show transition characters to Viverrida3 

 or Ursidae, and do not perhaps belong to the present family. 



FAMILY 29. MUSTELIDJE. (21-28 Genera, 92 Species.) 

 GENERAL DISTRIBUTION. 



The Mustelidse constitute one of those groups which range 

 over the whole of the great continental areas. They may be 

 divided into three sub-families one, the Mustelinse, containing 

 the weasels, gluttons, and allied forms ; a second, the Lutrinse, 

 containing the otters ; and a third, often considered a distinct 

 family, the Melininse, containing the badgers, ratels, skunks, 

 and their allies. 



In the first group (Mustelinae) the genera Martes and 

 Putorius (13 species), range over all the Palsearctic region, and a 

 considerable part of the Oriental, extending through India to 

 Ceylon, and to Java and Borneo. Two species of Martes 

 (Mustela of Baird) occur in the United States. The weasels, 

 forming the genus Mustela (20 species), have a still wider range, 

 extending into tropical Africa and the Cordilleras of Peru, but 



