CHAPTER XVIII. 



CARNIVORES, continued. 



THE WEASEL FAMILY. 



Family MUSTELID^E. 



WITH the Weasel family, in which are included not only the weasels and their 

 immediate allies, but likewise the badgers and otters, we come to the last group 

 of terrestrial Carnivores. The family is thus a very extensive one, and also one 

 in which many of the various members differ very widely from one another in 

 external appearances, as well as in the structure of their teeth. A large number 

 of the species and among them the typical forms are, however, characterised by 



SKELETON OF WEASEL. 



their long and slender bodies and short limbs ; while the great majority are of 

 medium or small size, and none are very large. 



In the general characters of the base of the skull the members of the Weasel 

 family agree with the Bears and Raccoons. They are, however, distinguished 

 from these by having but a single pair of molar teeth in the upper jaw, while 

 they agree with the raccoons in generally having but two pairs of these teeth 

 in the lower jaw. The ratels have, however, only a single pair of lower molar 

 teeth. The skull of any member of the family may always be distinguished from 

 that of any other Carnivore by the inner portion of the upper molar tooth being 

 wider in the antero-posterior direction than its outer portion, this character being 

 exhibited in the figure of the palate of an otter given later on, although in this 

 case the whole tooth is relatively wider than usual. The skull is further 

 characterised by the great development of the curved ridges of bone by which 

 the lower jaw is held in place, which grip the condyle of the latter so tightly 

 that it is sometimes difficult or impossible to detach it from the skull proper. 

 As in the two preceding families, the feet are in all cases provided with five toes. 



From the structure of the skull, as well as from certain features in the 



