502 POTOS. MUSTELID#. 
length, 83; zygomatic width, 59; interorbital constriction, 21.5; 
width of braincase, 41; palatal length, 31.5; length of upper pre- 
molar and molar series, 20; length of lower premolar and molar 
series, 23; length of mandible, front base of incisors to posterior 
border of condyle, 61; height of condyle, 30; at coronoid process, 43.5. 
The family MusTELID& is a large one and widely distributed 
over the earth. It is composed of many genera containing species 
that differ greatly in structure and habits, some dwellers of the 
plains, others of the woods, and still others which are aquatic, whose 
home is in the rivers, lakes, and seas, from which their subsistence is 
obtained. It is from the members of this family that the most 
valuable furs are procured. The majority of the species are dwellers 
in the northern parts of the earth, only a few being inhabitants of 
the region of which this work treats. Most species of the Mustelide 
have the capacity of secreting, and also of discharging, sometimes to 
a considerable distance, a fetid substance which proves a most effec- 
tive means of defense. The glands which form the secretory appar- 
atus are most highly developed in the Meplitine. So varied are the 
MusTELID& that any arrangement of the different forms cannot be 
otherwise than highly artificial, some of the gaps between the genera 
being wide and important. 
Fam. VI. Mustelidze. Badgers, Weasels, Otters, ete. 
A single tubercular molar tooth on each side of both jaws; in the 
upper molar the inner tubercular portion is longest in the antero- 
posterior direction; bulle slightly inflated; palate extending beyond 
the last molars; feet five-toed, plantigrade or digitigrade; no cecum. 
The Badger, representing the first genus of the subfamily, is 
eminently a digger, and lives in a burrow from which it rarely ven- 
tures any distance by day. Its short legs and broad, flat body give 
it the appearance when running of almost sweeping the ground. Its 
movements are slow, and if it imagines it can escape notice, it will 
remain motionless, crouching as low as possible, and at such a time 
a near approach is not impossible. The Badgers of Europe and 
America, although they resemble each other somewhat in outward 
appearance, differ so much in teeth and shape of skull that they can- 
not even be included in the same genus. The American typical 
species is an inhabitant of the more northern and western portion of 
