CARNIVORA. 6 I I 



exhibit transitional characters, and it has even been proposed 

 to place these in a separate section, under the name of Semi- 

 plantigrada. 



The first family of the Digitigrada is that of the Mustdida 

 or Weasels, including a number of small Carnivores, with short 

 legs, elongated worm-like bodies, and a peculiar gliding mode 

 of progression (hence the name of Vermiformes, sometimes 

 applied to the group). Amongst the best known of the Mus~ 

 telidce. are the common Weasel (Mustela vulgaris], the Pole-cat 

 ( Mustela putorius), and the Ferret (Mustela furo), the last being 

 supposed to be only an albino variety of one of the Pole-cats. 

 It is really an African species, but has been long domesticated 

 in Europe. Many of the Mustelidce are of great commer- 

 cial importance, furnishing beautiful and highly-valued furs. 

 Amongst these are the Ermine (Mustela erminea), and the 

 Sable (Mustela zibellind). It is asserted, however, that most of 

 the Sable of commerce is derived from the Black Mink (Puto- 

 rius nigrescent) and the Pine Marten (Mustela Americana) of 

 the United States and Canada. 



Almost all the Weasels have a very disagreeable odour, pro- 

 duced by the secretion of greatly-developed and modified 

 sebaceous glands, placed in the neighbourhood of the anus, 

 and known as the anal glands. In this respect, however, the 

 nearly-allied genus Mephitis, comprising the American Skunk, 

 \^> facile princeps. The Skunk is a pretty little animal, with a 

 long bushy tail, and when unmolested it is perfectly harmless. 

 If pursued or irritated, however, it has the power of ejecting 

 the secretion of the anal glands to a greater or less distance 

 with considerable force. The odour of this secretion is so 

 powerful and persistent that no amount of washing will remove 

 it from a garment, and its characters are said to be of the 

 most intensely disagreeable description. 



Also belonging to the family of the MustelidcE, and very 

 nearly allied to the Weasels, are the Otters (Lutra), distin- 

 guished by the possession of webbed feet adapted for swim- 

 ming. The body is long, the legs short, and the tail long, 

 stout, and horizontally flattened. The common Otter (Lutra 

 vulgaris) is a native of Britain, frequenting the banks of 

 streams and lakes. It lives upon fish, and is highly destructive 

 to Salmon. A closely-allied form is the American Otter (Lutra 

 Canadensis). In the Sea Otters (Enhydra) the tail is very 

 short. They are found on both sides of the North Pacific, and 

 yield a very valuable fur. 



The second family of the Semi-plantigrade Carnivores is that 

 of the Viverridcz, the Civets and Genettes. They are all of 



