CARNARIA. 
87 
Martens. These animals have the tail of middle length, with a fold beneath it in place of a pouch ; and 
their foot is very similar to that of a Badger. 
The most celebrated species is the Glutton of the north, RossomaTt of the Russians {Ursus gulo, Lin.) ; size of a 
Badger, and commonly of a fine deep maroon colour, with a browner disk on the back ; but sometimes it is paler. 
I It inhabits the glacial regions of the north, is reputed to be very sanguinary and ferocious, hunts by night, does 
! not become torpid during the winter, and subdues the largest animals by leaping upon them from a tree. Its 
I voracity has been absurdly exaggerated by some authors. The Wolverine of North America (Ursus luscus, Lin.) 
j does not appear to differ by any constant characters, but is generally of a paler tint. [Excepting in size and 
I massiveness, I cannot perceive that this animal differs from the Martens : assuredly it does not in the structure 
of its feet.] 
Warm climates produce some species which can only be placed near the Wolverines, from which they differ merely 
in having one false molar less to each jaw, and by a longer tail. Such are the animals termed by the Spanish 
inhabitants of North America Ferrets (Hurons), and which in point in fact have the dentition of our Ferrets and 
Weasels, and lead the same kind of life ; but they are distinguished by their semi-plantigrade carriage, [or rather 
by having their soles uncovered with hair]. Such are 
The Grison (Viverra vittata, Lin.)— Black, the top of the head and neck grey, a white band reaching from the 
forehead to the shoulders. [This constitutes the Grisonia, Gray, and with an allied species, le petit furet of 
Azzara (Galictis Allamandi, Bell), the Galictis* of the last-named naturalist, who places them contiguous to the 
Weasels. They are small animals, easily rendered very tame, and extremely playful in domestication ; of very 
carnivorous disposition, and particularly fond of eggs.] 
The Taira (Mustela barhara, Lin.) [Subdivision Taira of Gray.] — Brown [or brownish-black] ; the head grey ; 
[and sometimes] a large white spot under the throat. [The fur remarkably short.] 
These two animals are distributed throughout the warm parts of America, and exhale an odour of musk. Their 
feet are a little palmated, and it appears that they have been sometimes taken for Otters.f [We conceive that the 
Wolverine might be advantageously removed to the genus of Martens ; and would restrict the term Gulo to the 
others. The Orisons diffuse when irritated a disgusting stench.] 
The Ratels {Mellivora, F. Cuv.) — 
Have a false molar to each jaw still less than the Orisons, and their upper tuberculous tooth but 
little developed, so that they approximate the Cats in dentition ; but their whole exterior is that of the 
Grison, or [rather] of a Badger. The legs are short ; feet [semi-] plantigrade, and five toes to each ; 
the claws very strong, &c. 
But one species is known (Viverra mellivora, Sparm., and Viv. capensis, Schreb. pi. 125), of the size of the 
European Badger ; grey above, black below, with a wliite line that separates the two colours ; sometimes it is 
almost wholly white above. It inhabits the Cape of Good Hope, and burrows , into the ground with its long 
claws, in search of the honey-combs of the wild Bees. 
The Digitigrada — 
Form the second tribe of Carnivora, the members of which walk on the ends of their toes. 
In the first subdivision of them [all the members of which ai’e semi-plantigrade], there 
is only one tuberculous grinder behind the upper carnivorous tooth : these animals, on account 
of the length of their body, and shortness of the limbs, which permit them to pass through 
very small openings, are styled vermiform [?;emm]. They are destitute of coecum, like the 
preceding, but do not pass the winter in a state of lethargy. Although small and feeble, they 
are very sanguinary and ferocious. Linnaeus comprehended them all under one genus, that of 
The Weasels {Mustela, Lin.), — 
Which we will divide into four subgenera. 
The True Weasels {Putorius, Cuv. \_Mustela, Ray.] ) — 
Are the most sanguinary of any : their lower carnivorous tooth has no internal tubercle, and the upper 
tuberculous one is broader than long ; there are only two false molars above and three below. These 
animals may be recognized by having the extremity of the muzzle somewhat shorter and blunter than 
in the Martens. They all diffuse [when alarmed] a fetid stench ; [take the water, and dive with 
facility, having the toes semipalmated ; trace their prey by scent, and kill it by inflicting a wound in the 
neck : the female is commonly much smaller than the male. 
» This must not be confounded with the Galictis of Is. Geoffrey t U is supposed from the description given by Maregreave of his 
(C’omjofe rendM, Oct. 1837), which refers to the Mustela ox Putorius | Cariy?/e!icia, which name Buffon has applied to his Sar^■coD^en?^e, vol. 
striatus of Cuvier.— Ed. i xiii. p. 319, that he meant to speak of the Taira. 
