CHARACTERS OF THE PROCYONID.^. 



421 



Penis long, prepuce cabdominal, remote from sc/otum. Feet with 

 digital and plantar pads normallj- developed and quite naked; 

 carpal pad or pads also well developed and close to the plantar 

 pad. No glandular area round anus. Pm. 2 and p7ii. 3 of 

 maxilla comparativelj' small and one- or two-rooted*; pm. 3 

 unlike pm. 4, at most with one m.iin cusp and three minute 

 cusps. Alisphenoid canal absent. Foramen rotiindum of 

 normal size, well separated from the for. lac. ant. and not sunk 

 in a common pit with it ; foramen ovale rounded. Anterior 



edge of coronoid inclined backwards Peocxonid^. 



c. Mandible very massive, the rami early fused by a long sym- 

 physis, the lower edge straight by the growth posteriorly of a 

 large lamina, sometimes rounded, sometimes angled, beT>eath 

 the angular process, which is reduced to a small excrescence 

 beneath the condyle f; inner dentarj^ foramen beneath base of 

 anterior edge of coronoid. Palate parallel-sided, as wide in 

 front as behind, depressed behind molars ; paroccipitals and 

 mastoids standing away from bulla, which has carotid fora- 

 men set forwards much nearer for. lac. med. than for. lac. 

 post. ; molars even when newly cut flat-crowned ; pm. 1 absent 

 above and below J. Tail prehensile. Two ventral cutaneous 



glands Anal glands aborted Fotosince. 



cK Mandible slender, the rami separable and with normal sym- 

 physis, lower edge arched and inclining upwards without 

 expansion towards angular process, which is well developed 

 and close beneath the condyle ; inner dentary foramen about 

 midway between the condyle and the anterior margin of the 

 coronoid. Palate with arcuate sides, wider behind than in 

 front, not depressed behind molars ; paroccipitals and mastoids 

 arising close to the bullae, which have the carotid foramen 

 about equallj' distant from for. lac. med. and for. lac. post., 

 or nearer the latter. Molars cuspidate when newly cut; pm. 1 

 present. Tail not prehensile. No ventral glands. (Anal 

 glands retained in Bassariscus, Frocyon and Nasua, unre- 

 corded in Bassaricyon.) 

 d. Mesopterygoid fossa long, extending to posterior molars ; 

 molars and premolars with pointed or blade-like cusps ; 

 canines rounded in section, not grooved and not mutually 

 sharpened. Bursa of ear with anterior flap emarginate, 

 posterior flap attached behind edge of pinna. Metatarsus 

 with at most a small naked area above plantar pad ; claws 

 short, sharp, curved; digits fully webbed or nearly so. 

 Facial portion of skull and zygoma as under e ; hamular 

 in front of foramen ovale; no supplementary foramen 



behind carotid Bassariscince §. 



d'. Mesopterygoid fossa short, separated from molars by a long 

 posterior palate. Molars with subequal conical compara- 

 tively blunt cusps ; canines grooved, mutuallj' sharpened. 

 Bursa absent or reduced, its anterior flap at most very low 

 and not excised. Metatarsus naked beneath. 



* Exceptionally in Frocj/on, pm. 3 is three-rooted. 



t This at all events is, 1 believe, the correct interpretation of this region of the 

 mandible. 



X Huet figures a mandible with it present on the right side. 



§ Hollister gave full family rank to this group, because " The Cacomistles (Bassa- 

 riscus), while exhibiting many of the characters of the Procyonida?, dift'ers so 

 greatly in the nature of all the teeth that it seems impossible to retain them in the 

 family. The dog-like premolars and molars, the rounded canines, and the evident 



though small secondary- loljes on the incisors all show unmistakable characters 



of "the teeth of the Canidse." Nevertheless, by a series of comparatively simple 

 changes, the teeth oi' Bassariscus can be derived from those of such a Procyonid as 

 Nasua, for example, or vice versa, and the secondary grooves and lobes on the 

 incisors are not always more marked in Bassariscus than they are in Fotos, and the 

 grooves are often traceable in other genera. The teeth of all the genera attest the 

 extreme plasticity of those organs. (See above, p. 418) 



