346 DR. ST. G. MIVART ON THE ARCTOIDEA. [Apr. 21, 



markably modified in character, is numerically that of the Procyo- 

 nidcp ; but certain cranial peculiarities and its Asiatic habitat lead 

 me to concur with Mr. Turner in placing it in a distinct group. 



"The MustefidfP constitute a large, widely diffused, and somewhat 

 disjointed group, but exceedingly difficult to reduce into natural 

 subfamilies. The most aberrant or specialized are the Otters, which, 

 ending with Enhydris, run parnllel to the Bears towards the Pinni- 

 pedia." 



In his article "^Mammalia" in the ' Encyclopaedia Britannica,' 

 Professor Flower arranges the Arctoidea as follows : — 



ARCTOIDEA. 

 Family Mt:steltd^. 



I. Subfamily Lt;trin^- . . . Lutra, Aonyx, Enhydra. 

 II. Subfamily Melin^e .... Mephitis,Arctonyx,Mydavs, 



Meles, Taxidea, Ale/livora, 

 Helictis, Ictonyx. 

 III. Subfamily Musteline. . Galicits, Mustela, Putorius, 



Gulo. 

 Familv Procyonid^. Procyon, Bassaris, Bassaricyon, 



Nasva, Cercoleptes. 

 Family AiLURiDiE. Ailnrus. 



Family Ursidje. Ailuropus, Ursus, Melursus. 



Before proceeding to express how far I completely concur in this 

 arrangement, I will give my notes on the various genera, ending 

 with what Professor Flower regards as the most aberrant type, and 

 beginning with what is perhaps the most generalized form. 



In beginning the Arctoid group, then, I take the genus Procyon 

 as my type and standard of comparison. 



The genus consists of two, if not three species, as correctly 

 indicated by Dr. Sclater '. 



Tlie oldest known form, that from North America, P. lotor'^, has 



» See P. Z. S. 187.5, p. 421. 



2 Mnpach quanhpecoHi, Hernandez, De Quad. Ifov. Hisp. Folio I. Cap. 1. 

 1651. 



Zfrms Cauda elongaia, Linn.Tus, Svst. IN'at. 173.5, p. 35. 



El AmeriJcanstet, Diur, Konigl. Vetenstaps Akad. Handl. 1747, p. 277, 

 tab. is.. 



Ursus lotor. Linnaiis, Svst. Nat. (ed. 10) i. 1758, p. 48 (ed. 12) i. 1766, 

 p. 70; Erxleben, Svst. Beg. Anim. 1777. p. 165; Schreber. Sang. iii. 1778, 

 p. 521, pi. 143 ; Gmelin, Svst. Is at. i. 1788, p. 103 ; Harlan, P. A. 182.^ 

 p. 23. 



Procyon lotor, Storr, Prod. Meth. Annu. 1780; Desmarest, Mammalogie, 

 1820, p. 168 ; Griffith's Cuvier, v. 1827, p. 114; Fisnber's Synopsis, 1829, 

 p. 147; Aurlubon and Bacliman, vol. ii p 47, pi. Ixi. ; Wagner's Supple- 

 ment, Abth. ii. 1841. p. 154; Isid. Geof. St.-Hilaire, Zool.^ Toy. Yinu.s 

 p. 125, pi. vi. ; P. Gervais, ilamniiferes, vol. ii. (1855) p. 24; iMlpn,Bnn. 

 U. S. Geol. Survey, vol. ii. p. 325 ; Baird, Mamm. X. Amer. p. 207 ; AJston, 

 Biologia, p. 69 ; Dr. Clinton Hart Merriam, Trans, of Linn. Soc. of X. 

 York, Dec. 1882, vol. i. p. 71. 



P. hemandczii, Wagler, Isis, 1831, p. 514: Baird, Mamra. N. Amer. p. 212, 



