SUBORDER B 



FISSIPEDIA 



73 



Taxidea Waterhouse. Kecent, Pliocene and Pleistocene of North America. 

 Mellivora Storr. Recent in South Asia and South East Africa. Fossil in 

 Pliocene of Siwalik. 



Trocharion Major. 31^ two-rooted. Upper Miocene ; La Grive St. Alban. 

 Promephitis Gaudry. P reduced to only f . Lower Pliocene ; Pikermi. 

 Mephitis Cuv. f P. Recent and fossil in Pleistocene of North America. 

 Thiosmus Illiger. South America. 

 Brachypotoma Brown. | /. Pleistocene of North America. 



3.L4.2. 



Family 5. Viverridae. Civet Cats. 

 Upper carnassial elongated, with anterior cusp preceding the principal 



3.L4.2 



cusp, and strong anterior inner tubercles far forward. 



Upper M tritubercular. M.^ 



with high, trilobate, trigonid and concave tubercular, talonid. M # and M \ similar. 

 Cranium elongated, low with moderately elongated snout. Tympanic bulla large and 

 separated from the tympanic by a septum. Extremities short and slender, plantigrade 

 or digitigrade, pentadactyl, occasionally tetradactyl. Tail long. 



The Viverridae are mostly small, slender and agile carnivores, existing at 

 the present time exclusively in Asia, Africa and South Europe. They are 

 represented by fossil remains in the European Tertiary, and in the Pliocene and 

 Pleistocene of South Asia, being probably 

 derived from the Viverravinae of the North 



American and European Eocene. In skele- imT^.WII'ii'y /'im c 



tal and dental structures they exhibit many 

 characteristics of the oldest Cynodictinae 

 and Mustelidae {Pcdaeoprionodon). 



Viverra Linn. (Fig. 102) and Herpestes 

 Illiger (Fig. 103) are recent in South 



Fig. 102. 



Viverra simplicidens Schloss. Phosphorite of Quercy. 

 Inner aspect of right mandible, i/i. 



Fig. 103. 



Herpestes lemanensis Pomel (Viverra antiqua 

 Blainv.). Lower Miocene of Tretaux, Allier. 

 Lower aspect of palate. Vi- 



Asia, South Europe and North Africa. Fossil forms with small talonid and 

 small Mg in Quercy and English Eocene. From these, the various fossil species 

 of Viverra and Herpestes, characteristic of the European basal Miocene, have 

 been derived. Progenetta incerta Lartet appears first in the Upper Miocene 

 and Pliocene of South France. Viverra pepratxi Dep6ret is known from 

 Roussillon, and many typical species of Viverridae appear in the Siwalik 

 beds. 



Ictitherium Wagner (Thalassictis Nordmann, Palhyaena, Gervais) (Fig. 104). 

 Cranium elongated, narrow ; ]\P and M'^ small proportionately to P^. Lower 



