principally in the British Museum. 581 



This may prove an Albino variety ; but the softness of the fur at once 

 distinguishes it from the Racoon. 

 Mephi v tis. I am inclined to confine this genus to the species which have 

 the following characters : — The hind feet rather narrow, depressed. 

 The soles two thirds bald ; the middle ridge divided into four oval pads 

 (the inner pads the smallest) ; the hinder portion largest, and divided 

 into two oblong longitudinal pads. Front claws moderate. False 

 grinders ■§ ; upper tubercular grinder square. Of this I have seen three 

 species, which may be thus divided. 



a. Tail elongate, hairs spare, long, and pendent. 



Mephitis vdrians. Black, with a narrow white streak on the forehead, a 

 large square spot on the nape, and two narrow streaks between the 

 blade-bones. Tail black ; base of the hairs white. 

 Inhabits Texas. Brit. Museum. 

 Mephitis mexicdna. Fur very soft, silky. Black. Narrow streak on 

 the nose; broad band across the crown ; a broad vertebral streak, and 

 two narrow lateral dorsal streaks, and a small spot on each side of the 

 shoulder, white. 



Inhabits Mexico. Mus. Zool. Soc. 



b. Tail short, bushy, subcylindrieal , ending in a pencil of hairs. 

 Mephitis bicolor. Fur soft, short, black. Oval spot on nose ; larger spot 

 on each temple, in front of the ears ; broad stripe down each side of the 

 nape and front part of the back, and two narrow stripes between them on 

 the back ; two or three cross bands of small spots on the loins ; a spot 

 on each side of the tail, and a large pencil at its tip, white. 

 Inhabits North America. 

 Length, 15 in. ; tail Tin. 



The other species which have been referred to this genus I should 

 include in the two following genera : — 

 Conepa s tus Gray. The hind feet large,broad. The bald soles half the length 

 of the feet, oblong, broad ; rugose and warty, rounded behind, divided 

 into two convex parts by a cross groove, and scarcely subdivided into 

 smaller pads. Front claws very long. The tail short, bushy, subcylin- 

 drieal. Teeth like Mephitis. 

 Co?iepdtus Humboldtii, Mephitis Concpatl. Denn., Viverra Conepatl. Gmel. 

 Black, with some rather longer shining hairs, with a broad white band 

 along each side of the back, which is united over the crown. Tail sub- 

 cylindrical, very bushy, white, with interspersed shorter longly black- 

 tipped hairs. Var. fur softer brown, with the white band continued on 

 the base of the tail : perhaps the summer coat. 

 Inhabits Magellan Straits. Brit. Museum. 

 Marpu n tius Gray. The hind feet moderate. The bald soles extending to 

 the heel. Front claws elongate. Tail rather short. Nose acute, pro- 

 duced. Fur bristly, close-pressed. Teeth like Mephitis. 

 Marputius chilcnsis, Mephitis chilcnsis Geoff. 



Inhabits Chili. Brit. Museum. 

 The Mephitis ndsua Bennett, and Viverra Maipittio Gmelin, probably 



belong to this genus. 

 Cente v nus variegdtus. Whitish. Hairs and spines brown, ringed. Orbits 

 and face brown. Face very long, produced, slender. Cutting teeth £ ; 

 upper deeply bifid. 



Inhabits Isle of France. 



Cuvier, in his Regne Animal, has, by mistake, misplaced his character 

 of the Terrac and Tendrac. 



u u 3 



