IG-l DIVISION I. VERTEBKAI. ANIMALS. — CLASS I. MAMMALIA. 



cellar, but did not exhale tlie smallest scent wlien undisturbed. A foolish 

 woman, however, who perceived it one night by the shining of its eyes, 

 killed it, and at that moment the fetid odor began to spread. The cellar 

 \\'as Idled with it to such a degree that the woman kept her bed for several 

 (hiAs ; anil all the bread, meat, and other provisions that were kept there, 

 were so infected that they were obliged to be thrown out of doors." 



The sj)ecies are all striped with black and white, or brown and white, 

 but the stri[ics vary in nmnber even in the same species. 



The common skunk (Mrj)]utls Anicriciina) is too well known to need 

 any description ; the M. p/ifri/iiteata is distinguished by nine white stripes 

 on a black ground. The Texas skunk {M. varidiis) is black with a narrow 

 white streak in the forehead. The Mexican skunk {M. ML-xicanus) has 

 the fur sott and silky, color black, with naiTOW streak on the nose, and 

 small white spots on each shoulder. M. hlcolor is also a North American 

 species, white and black. i)/. concjxtt inhal)its the regions near the 

 Straits of Magellan ; is likewise black, with a broad white band on each 

 side of the back, united over the crown. The Chili skiuik (M. ChiJijnsis) 

 is oi' a deep chestnut color, with two white streaks on the sides, united on 

 the shoulders, and also connected at the back of the head in the form of a 

 crescent. 



(iiCNUS Galictis. — "We know of Ijut one species, which inhabits South 

 America. It has one tubercular, a carnivorous, and two false molars 

 above ; and one tubercular, a carnivorous, and four false molars below. It 

 has the mephitic pouch, but not so fetid as in the skunk. The anterior head, 

 cheeks, sides, liml)s, and tail are black; a broad white Ijand passes across 

 the forehead, above the eyes and below the cars, to the shoulders ; the body 

 is gray, 'i'hest' characters distinguish the banded grison ((rcdictis villulu) . 

 The animal dwells in hollow trees, and has a fiu'ious temper. 



(iKMs Eii;a. — The dental structure of this genus is the same as that 

 of the grison, which it strongly resembles, and at the same time shows a 

 degree of relatiimship to the otters. The species are equally fitted for the 

 land or water; are exjicrt swinuners and nimble climbers. The Eira bar- 

 liiini is abcHit the size of the marten ; of a blackish-brown color, with a yellow- 

 ish-white spot on the throat. It exhales a musky odor. The Uii-(f i/;/(t is 

 entirely blackish-brown, w^ith the head, neck, and throat gray. The Jura 

 (/ii/ent has the head, neck, and thrcKit yellowish-gray, with a slender white 

 line across the throat, and the body black ; and the HJira ferniijuicii is a 

 fidvous chestnut-brown, with the exception of the extremities and tail, which 

 are black. These are all tropical animals. 



Gknus JIellivoka. — There is but one species known ; the Eatel 

 (ill. raid), wdiich represents the gluttons of the North, in the Southern 



