1865.] Solatbr on the Mammals of South, America. 613 



braces only a single peculiar species, first made known to science by 

 Dr. Lund, in 1841. The Icticyon venaticm, or Cacborro di Mato of 

 the Brazilians, has sometimes been referred to the Mustelidae. But 

 there is now no doubt, as Professor Burmeister (who formerly adopted 

 this view) has himself shown,* that its proper place is with the Dogs 

 (Canidae), of which it is an aberrant form, resembling the Badgers 

 (Meles) in habits, as in certain parts of its structure. 



To Professor Burmeister we are also indebted for a very elabo- 

 rate account of the American species of Canis.^ These are seven in 

 number, and are divisible into three sub-genera, which Professor 

 Burmeister calls Chrysocyon, Lycalopex, and Pseudolopex. The first 

 contains only the peculiar Canis jubatus of Desmarest, distinguished 

 by its large size and brilliant colouring, which is found chiefly in 

 the swampy and more open districts of Southern Brazil and the 

 Argentine Eepublic. The second (Lycalopex) embraces three species : 

 C. cancrivorus, of the wooded districts of Western South America, and 

 Canis vetulus and C. fulvicaudus, of the Campos of Inner Brazil. The 

 third (Lycalopex) contains three species ; the best known of which is 

 the Canis azarw, which is very abundant all over the southern extremity 

 of the American continent. Mr. Darwin tells us that this animal 

 is " common in La Plata, Chili, and the whole of Patagonia, even to 

 the shores of the Strait of Magellan." In the sterile and deserted 

 regions of these countries this dog often prowls about by daytime, 

 preying chiefly on the smaller Bodents. In Chili it is said to be very 

 destructive in the vineyards from the quantities of grapes which it 

 consumes, and necessitates the presence of watchers to keep it away. 

 The Canis magellanicus, which is also a Lycalopex, seems to be con- 

 fined to the western side of the Andean chain, ranging from " the 

 humid and entangled forests of Tierra del Fuego to the almost abso- 

 lutely desert country of Northern Chili." J 



The Mustelidae — a well-defined group of Carnivores, easily recog- 

 nized by the presence of only a single tubercular molar in each jaw — 

 are by no means abundant in South America, the greater number of 

 the species being restricted to the more temperate regions of both 

 hemispheres. There, nevertheless, occur within the limits of the 

 Neotropical Begion representatives of several genera belonging to 

 this group to which we must call our readers' attention. Of the more 

 typical Mustelidae I am not aware that more than one species is cer- 

 tainly known as occurring in South America — the Mustela frenata of 

 Lichtenstein, which may have probably extended itself southward from 

 its original sedes in Mexico,§ along the Andean range. 



In Galictis, on the other hand, we meet with a purely Neotropical 

 form represented by two species, both belonging to Brazil and the 



* Erlaiiterungen z. Fauna Brasiliens, p. 1. 



f Op. cit., p. 19 et seq. 



% Darwin, in Zool. Voy. ' Beagle,' ii. p. 11. 



§ Mustela aureiventris (Gray, 'P.Z.S.,' 1864, p. 55), from Ecuador, is probably 

 the young of this species. M. agilis of Tschudi's Fauna Peruana is perhaps not 

 different. 



