72 



CARNIVORA 



ORDER III 



Potamotherium Geoffroy [LutridisVomQl; Stephanodo7i v. Meyer) (Fig. 100) 

 4.2. 

 4.2. 

 tritubercular 



Upper carnassial with broadened inner cusp. 

 3P very small : 3L with Is 



ilF ti'ansversely elongated, 



very small ; il/^ with large talonid. Auditory bulla 

 flattened. Skeleton more highly specialised than that of Lutra. Metapodials 

 and toes flattened. Miocene of Dept. Allier, Mayence and Ulm. Also in the 

 Miocene of North America. P. lycopotamicum Cope, P. lacota Matthew. These 

 are all well-distinguished forms. 



Lutra Erxleben. Otter. ^ M. M more compressed than in preceding 

 genus. Recent in northern hemisphere and fossil in the Miocene, Pliocene 



and Pleistocene of Europe, N. Africa 

 (Egypt), Asia and North America. 



Brachijpsalis Cope. ili^ very long. 

 Miocene of Nebraska. 



Enhydriodon Falconer. Basal Pliocene, 

 Monte Bamboli ; and Pliocene of Siwalik. 



Pig. 100. 



Potamotherium valetoni Geoffrey St. Hilaire. 

 Lower Miocene of St. Gerand-le-Puy. Lower 

 aspect of the skull. %. 



Fig. 101. 



Promeles palaeattica Weithofer sp. Lower Plio- 

 cene of Pikermi near Athens. A, Palate from 

 below. £, Lower jaw from above, i/j. (After 

 Weithofer.) 



Subfamily 4. Melinae. Badgers. 



il/i. il/j wifh large grooved talonid, usually with metaconid. IP enlarged and 

 complicated. Anterior P strongly reduced. 



Trochictis v. Meyer, il/^ with short talonid. Upper Miocene of Europe. 



Trochotherium Fraas. M flattened. Upper Miocene ; Germany. 



3.1. 

 Promeles Zittel (Fig. 101). -^- P^ elongated, 3P tritubercular, quad- 



rangular in outline, with well -developed cingulum. 31^ with long, multi- 

 tubercular talonid. Basal Pliocene ; Pikei'mi. 



Meles Storr. Badger. P^^ short. Recent in Europe and Asia. Fossil 

 in Lower Pliocene of Maragha (Persia) and China, and Pleistocene of 

 Europe. 



