1885.] DR. ST. 6. MIVART ON THE ARCTOTDEA. 379 



To the cranial characters mentioned bv Prof. Flower^ may be 

 added the small length of the muzzle compared with tlie great length 

 of the cranium proper. The infi'aorbital foramen is rather large, the 

 zygomata delicate but well arched outwards, and the palate is 

 prolonged backwards behind the last molars. 



The angle of the mandible, though much pressed upwards, is 

 still distinctly distinguishable. 



Molar formula = P. J, M. |. 



The dentition is more sectorial than heretofore. The second 

 upper and lower premolars are two-rooted. The fourth upper 

 premolar has a very small hinder lobe, and no lobe in front of the 

 principal lobe, so that the tooth is very like the corresponding one of 

 Canis, especially as the internal lobe is anterior in position, opposite 

 the front part of the principal cusp. 



Of the lower teeth, the front premolar is like that of Galictis. 

 The first molar like that oi Mellivora, but larger and especially lower, 

 while the second molar is a small rounded tooth. 



The brain " shows a distinct but small Ursine lozenge in fi'ont of 

 a considerable crucial svdcus which is placed rather far back. The 

 sagittal gyrus is much the widest of the three circumsylvian gyri. 

 The crucial and calloso-marginal sulci run one into the other. The 

 Sylvian fissure is oblique and relatively long. 



Putorius^. — This very large genus of small-sized mammals is 

 very wide spread, inhabiting as it does not only the Nearctic and 

 Palaearctic regions and the Indian Archipelago, but also Africa, 

 north and south, and South America, including Brazil. There may 

 be something like two dozen species. The body attains its maxi- 

 mum of length and the limbs their minimum. Here for the first 

 time we meet with species (P. vulgaris and P. erminea) common 

 to the old and new worlds. The feet are more or less hairy beneath, 

 especially the hinder part of tarsus. Habit digitigrade. The nose 

 bears a median vertical groove. 



The Mink {P. vison) is aquatic in its habits. 



There may be from 13 to 16 dorsal and 5 or 6 lumbar, the dorsal 

 and lumbar vertebrae together varying from 19 to 21. 



The lumbar region is at its maximum of relative length amongst 

 Arctoids, and the dorsal region almost at its minimum. The limbs 

 are at their minimum length as compared with the spine, as are also 

 the femur, tibia, and metacarpus. The length of the palate, and 

 the breadth of the zygomata, compared with the length of the 

 skull, are also at their minimum. 



The infraorbital foramen is larger relatively than in Mustela, and 

 the mastoid and paroccipital processes are still more indistinct *. 



» P. Z. S. 1869, p. 39, Maries. ^ L. c. p. 17. 



^ This is Mustela of Aldrovandus, Bay, Klein, Schreber, Gmelin, Desmarest, 

 Lesson, Fischer, Bell, Gray, and Ooues, see 'Pur-bearing Animals,' p. 102. It 

 also includes the Gale, Gymnopus, Lutreola, Neogale, and Vison of Gray. It 

 is the Putorius of Cuvier, Brandt, Gray, Bichardson, Audubon and Bachman, 

 Coues, P. Gerrais, and others. 



* Per other cranial characters see Flower, P. Z. S. 1869, p. 13 & fig. 4. 



