41 



34; body extremely stout, squat, and clumsy, owing to great depression; 

 tail shprt, broad, and flattened ; pelage loose ; coloration diffuse ; fore claws 

 extremely large, highly adapted for digging; habits thoroughly terres- 

 trial and fossorial ; back upper molar a right angle triangle, with hypo- 

 thenuse postero-external ; back upper pre-molar similar in size and shape, 

 but the hypothenuse postero-internal ; back under pre-molar with two 

 tubercles ; anterior under molar comparatively small, not dilated behind, 

 mostly opposing the back upper pre molar (instead of the upper molar 

 as in Meles) ; cerebral portion of skull depressed, cuneiform, very wide 

 across the flaring occipital crest ; the inter-mastoid diameter nearly 

 equalling the inter-zygomatic ; sides of the brain case straightened and 

 strongly convergent anteriorly; bony palate, reaching halfway to ends 

 of pterygoids ; bullae auditorise at a maximum of inflation, impinging 

 behind upon paroccipitals; condyles of jaw often locked in the glenoid; 

 coronoid of jaw erect, pointed, its posterior edge angulated by the meet- 

 ing of two straightish lines. ' 



This genus is confined to North and Middle America. There are three 

 other well marked genera in the eub-family Melinx : the European Meles, 

 the Asiatic Mydaus, and Arctonyx. In all the genera the perineal 

 glands are moderately developed, and there is a peculiar sub-caudal 

 pouch. 



Taxidea AMERICANA. Baird. 

 American Badger. 



1778. Ursus taxus, Schreb., " Saug.; iii, 1778, 530, f. 142, B. (After Bufibn)." 

 1784. Meles taxus var. americanus, Bodd., Elench. Anim., i, 1784, 136. 



1787. Meles americanus, Zimm., Penn. Artische Zcol., i, 1787, 74. (Quotes 



Boddaert.) 



1788. Ursus labradorius, Gm., S. N., i, 1788, 102, n. 7.— Kerr., S. N., i, 1792, 



187.— Shaw, G. Z., i, 1800, 469, pi. 106.— Turt., S. N., i, 1806, 63. 

 1796. Meleti labradoria, Meyer, " Zool. Arch., ii, 1796, 46."— J. Sab., App. 

 Franklin's Journ., 1823,649 (compared with European). — Harl., 

 Fn. Amer., 1825, 57.— Grifi:, An. Kingd., v, 1827, 116 (" labra- 

 dorica").— Leas., Man., i, 1827, 141, No. 372 ("lahradorica").— 

 Fiach., Syn., 1829, 151.— Rich., F. B. A., i, 1829, 37, No. 12, pi. 2. 

 — Godm., Am. Nat. Hist., i, 1831, 179.— Rich., Zool. Beechey's 

 Voy., 1839, 4.— Wagn., Suppl. Schreb., ii, 1841, 182 — DeKay,N. 

 Y. Zool, i, 1842, 27.— Schinz, Syn., i, 1844, 316 ("labradorus"'). 

 — Aud. & Bach., Q. N. A , i, 1849, 360, pi. 47.— Bd., Stansbury's 

 Rep., 1352, 311.— Kenn., Tr. Illinois Agric. Soc. for 1853^-5, 

 678.— Giebel, Saug., 1855, 761 ("labradorius").— Hall, Canad. 

 Nat. and Geol., vi, 1861,294 QHabradoricus"). — Maxim., Arch. 

 Naturg., 1861, — ; Verz. Saug., 1862, 38. 



