THE WEASEL TRIBE 159 



FENNEC (Cants zerda). 

 Plate XV. Fig. i. 



There are many species of Fox, but none so quaintly 

 pretty as the Fennec of Northern Africa. It appears to 

 have been first noticed by the celebrated traveller Bruce, 

 who discovered it during his endeavours to reach the source 

 of the Nile. Its ears and tail are so large and its body is so 

 small that it looks as if it were made of a pair of ears and a 

 tail, to which a body had been attached as an afterthought. 

 From the nose to the root of the tail the Fennec measures 

 barely a foot, the bushy appendage being eight inches in 

 length. Its colour is pale fawn and its eyes are blue. 

 Like the rest of the foxes, it is nocturnal in its habits, and 

 remains during the day in holes and burrows which it digs 

 in the sandy soil. 



FAMILY MUSTELID^:. 



This family forms a most heterogeneous collection of 

 carnivorous animals, which are found in all parts of the 

 world with the exception of the West Indies and Australasia. 

 Differing much among themselves in size, and including 

 burrowers, tree-climbers, and animals distinctly aquatic, it 

 would be almost useless to attempt to describe characters 

 common to all, except certain physiological similarities, as, 

 for example, the organs of digestion. 



Many of these animals are classed as ' vermin/ but that 

 derogatory term does not depreciate the value of the 

 magnificent furs with which many members of the family 

 are coated. Numerous as the animals are, they conveniently 

 divide into three sections, or sub-families : 



1. Musteline?, or true Weasels, e.g., Weasel, Marten, 

 Polecat, Stoat, Glutton, &c. 



2. Melince, e.g., Badger, Skunk, &c. 



3. Lutrince, or Otters. 



Sub-Family Mustelinse. 



The majority of these animals are small, the Wolverene 

 being quite a giant among them ; but even the smallest 



