Marsh Collection, Peabody Museum. 441 



foramen. The pterygoids are well developed and the postna- 

 sal gutter is long and deep, much as in the dog and other 

 typical Carnassidents. The posterior edge of the palatines is 

 thickened and lies considerably behind the last molar. The 

 palatal region is narrow in front and widens rapidly behind, 

 being rather concave from side to side. The posterior palatine 

 foramina have their usual position opposite the first molar, and 

 behind them, in the palatines themselves, are numerous smaller 

 accessory foramina. The incisive foramina are not well pre- 

 served, but there is evidence of their having had the usual 

 slit-like openings. 



The lower jaw is long and slender, with a well-curved inferior 

 border. The coronoid is wide and much elevated, the masse- 

 teric fossa well marked, and the angle produced into a long 

 slightly inflected hook. The condyle is placed rather high and 

 has the scroll-like pattern of many of the Carnivora. 



The Dentition. — The teeth exhibit very marked progress 

 toward the extreme sectorial structure of the later and more 

 specialized members of the family. The dental formula is 

 I. f (?), C. ^, Pm. f, M. -§-=44:. Of the superior series, the outer 

 incisors have much the same form as the corresponding teeth 

 in the Carnassidents. The canines are long, pointed, and curved. 

 The first premolar has a compressed, bluntly pointed crown, 

 and is implanted by two roots about midway between the canine 

 and second premolar, with a considerable interval or diastema 

 in front and behind it. The second premolar has a more 

 pointed principal cusp, which is inclined to be hook-shaped ; 

 there is in addition a small posterior basal talon. The third 

 premolar is missing. The fourth has all the usual elements of 

 the superior sectorial of the Carnassidents, but it is much less 

 perfect as a shearing organ. The external parts of the crown 

 include a low indistinct basal cusp in front, a slightly flattened 

 conical principal cusp, and a posterior blade-like extension 

 separated from the main cusp by a deep vertical fissure. There 

 is a distinct lunate internal cusp. The first and second molars 

 are subequal in size, the second being slightly larger than the 

 first. The antero-external angle of the first is less distinct than 

 that of the second, in which it is produced into a short, trans- 

 verse, shearing blade. In other respects, the structure of the 

 two teeth is the same. The two primary external cusps are 

 connate for the greater part of their extent, only the points 

 being separated. The posterior spur is enlarged, blade-like, 

 and, in connection with the drawn-out posterior edge of the 

 more or less fused externals, constitutes the chief shearing 

 apparatus of the upper jaw. There is, in addition, a somewhat 

 reduced internal lunate cusp, which, upon its anterior rim, 

 supports a small intermediate. The last molar is transverse 



