NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 
and bladder-like, and is without any internal partition, the 
paroccipital process is prominent, and although in contact 
with the bulla is not applied to it, as is the case with the 
genera Felide and Viverride. Another anatomical differ- 
ence is the presence of a long and coiled cecum at the junction 
of the large and small intestine. 
The molar teeth are triangular in shape, and nearly always 
two in number. 
This family is world-wide in its distribution. 
Species 
(Inhabiting South Africa) 
Canis mesomelas, Schreb. 
Canis adustus, Sund. 
Vulpes chama, A. Smith. 
Otocyon megalotis, Desm. 
Lycaon pictus venaticus, Burch. 
a. Lycaon pictus zuluensis, Thos. Aun. Mag. Nat. Hist. (7), 
xiv. p. 98 (1904). 
Bas y yo 
Division : ARCTOID/ 
Family : MusTELIDz 
(Otters, Ratels, Muishonds, Weasels, Martens, etc.) 
Carnivorous animals with elongated bodies, short legs, and 
usually provided with glands for the secretion of an un- 
pleasant, musky-smelling fluid for defensive purposes. 
The members of this family, with one exception, may be 
distinguished by having one pair of upper and two of lower 
molar teeth, and by the inner part of the upper molars 
being longer from base to front than the outer side. The 
exception is the Ratel, which has a single pair of molars in 
the upper and lower jaws. 
The members of this family inhabit all the continents, 
with the exception of Australia. They are also absent in 
Madagascar. The species comprising the family are ex- 
ceptionally numerous in the temperate regions of the Northern 
Hemisphere. 
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