Marsh Collection, Pedbody Museum. 293 



on the malars, marking the posterior boundaries of the orbital 

 cavities below. The zygomatic arches are rather broad and 

 heavy ; they are widest a short distance in advance of the 

 glenoid cavity and apparently lack the graceful outward curving 

 so common to the carnassident skull, although it is difficult to 

 say just how much of this appearance is due to post-mortem 

 pressure. In their present form they resemble those of the 

 opossum. The malar has a considerable extension upon the 

 side of the face, and displays a prominent median ridge, which 

 is continued forward to the infraorbital foramen. On the under 

 surface of the arch, at the point of junction of the malar with the 

 maxillary, there is a prominent process for the tendinous origin 

 of the most anterior fibers of the masseter. This process is 

 apparently wanting in the carnassident skull, but is large and 

 prominent in that of the Opossum, Dasyure, and to a less 

 extent in Sarcopliilus. 



The postorbital constriction is marked, and as in the Marsu- 

 pials, the brain cavity is relatively very small. Just posterior 

 to this constriction the diverging branches of the postorbitals 

 unite to form an enormous sagittal crest, which passes back to 

 the high, narrow, overhanging occiput. At the base of the 

 crest, opposite the external auditory meatus, is seen the super- 

 ficial opening of the unusually large postparietal canal, — a 

 venous foramen which served as a conduit for the venous 

 blood passing to the lateral sinus. 



The posterior view of the cranium, Plate III, shows the 

 occiput to be very high and narrow, and at the same time, 

 extending considerably beyond and overhanging the condyles ; 

 it exhibits a very rugose surface for the attachment of the 

 nuchal muscles, and near the middle portion there is a localized 

 roughened area for the origin of the nuchal ligament. The 

 lambdoidal crest is broad and laminate above, less distinct and 

 more spreading below, and passes around upon the squamosal 

 in the usual manner, to become continuous with the posterior 

 root of the zygoma. The condyles are large, protuberant, 

 and divergent, and the foramen magnum looks backward and 

 downward. The mastoid has quite an extensive exposure upon 

 the posterolateral part of the occipital surface, but no greater 

 than that of the opossnm or dog ; it becomes prominent later- 

 ally and forms a moderately large mastoid protuberance, similar 

 to that of the bears and the arctoid Carnassidents in general. 

 Upon the posterior surface of this process is seen the external 

 opening of the large stylomastoid foramen, and in front of and 

 a little below this is a rather deep recess, which probably marks 

 the point of attachment of the hyoid arch, although there is no 

 plug-like tympanohyal present. This posterior position of the 

 stylomastoid foramen appears to be peculiar to certain of the 



