XJRSITAXUS INAURITUS. 
581 
Otter’s : the eyes small, round, level with 
the cheeks, possessed of a third lid which 
may be drawn two-thirds over the cornea, 
and of a round pupil ; their position nearly 
equi-distant from the snout and ear. The 
nude ears are shaped and disposed pretty 
much as in the human subject ; but the he- 
lix is wholly wanting, being replaced by a 
marginal obtuse swelling of the skin merely. 
The parallel portion of the anti-helix is 
rather more sharply defined ; but the trans- 
verse is wholly absent : the tragus distinct, 
but the anti-tragus and lobe evanescent. 
The coach is elongated vertically like the 
rest of the organ, with but a small cavity 
and no superior definite limitation : the 
opening into the interior simple, apert, and 
round : the neck of the animal short and 
very thick: the body still thicker; being 
as deep almost as the length of the 
limbs, which are short and powerful, parti- 
cularly the anterior ones. The digits are 
5 in all four extremities, blended with the 
metacarpal and metatarsal joints so as to 
constitute solid pads for the feet, the anteal 
half only of the last phalanges being free, 
and connected superiorly by a small strong 
membrane which is firmly attached to the 
nails. The inferior surface of the hands 
and feet, to the back of the wrist and to 
the os calcis, is perfectly nude, the palms 
and soles being full, soft, and fleshy. At 
the forward end of each anterior digit is a 
very large ball, suitable to keep the huge 
nails from embarrassing the animal’s walk ; 
but the bases of all the 5 digits rest on one, 
undivided, round, pad, behind which is an- 
other, as large almost, and of similar shape, 
for the metacarpi. The balls of the hinder 
extremities resemble those of the fore, save 
that the metatarsal pad lies less centrally 
behind the termino-digital one, and is some- 
what less developed. The gradation of the 
anterior digits is thus : the central largest, 
then the index, next the annular, then the 
external finger, retracted as in our hand, 
and with its nail similarly diminished ; last 
the internal one, sub remote as with us, but 
much the feeblest of all. The hind feet are 
considerably smaller than the fore : they 
have the external digits less retracted ; the 
talons of the whole much less developed ; 
more nearly equal in size ; and gradated 
upon a different principle — the outermost 
being the stoutest, and the rest gradually 
but trivially diminished in strength tdwards 
the inmost. The nails of the anterior ex- 
tremities are typically fossorial, sub-arched, 
shallow, stout, obtuse, obliquely compressed 
with broad convex backs, and a sharpened 
edge below. 
The feet and hands of Ursitaxus are pre- 
cisely similar to the same organs in the 
Bears, except that the digit answering to 
the thumb is rather remote in our animal — 
not so in Ursus — and that the interval be- 
tween the terminal balls of the digits and 
their confusion with the palmary mass is 
nude in Ursitaxus — clad with soft hair in 
the Bears. 
The anal glands of the Ursitax differ 
considerably from those of the Badger, 
agreeing point by point with the same organ 
in Mydaus (Horsfield), save only that the 
excretory ducts are rather longer in our 
animal and have their termination in the 
rectum rather nearer to its orifice and to 
one another. The tongue of the Ursitax 
resembles that of the Badger, being wholly 
covered with small papillm, neither horny 
nor aculeated backvrards. The covering 
of our animal consists of harsh hair only, 
and that very scantily furnished. It is about 
two inches in utmost length, straight and 
adpressed, sufficient in quantity to hide the 
skin upon the superior aspect only of the 
head, neck, and body ; the face, neck, and 
body below, with the limbs internally, being 
partially nude. The colours are dirty yel- 
low and black, clearly defined by a line 
passing from the brows along the flanks to 
the edges of the tail, and leaving all above 
it of the foi’mer — ^below it, of the latter, 
hue. The dirty tinge of the yellow upon 
the superior parts is caused by an admix- 
ture of yellow and black hairs, of which the 
former are more abundant and longer too 
than the latter, but both of similar harsh 
character. The tail, 5 inches long and 
scarcely reaching to the middle of the 
buttocks, is cylindrico-tapered and covered 
with hair like the back, the point being fine 
and a little recurved. 
The following are the detailed dimensions 
of our animal — 
Ft. In, 
Tip of snout to base of tail, .... 28 
Tail only,. . 0 5 
Tail and hair, 0 6^ 
Carpus (inclusively) to longest 
finger, 0 41- 
Heel to longest toe,. 0 4§ 
Length of the head, . . .... .... 0 6f 
Nose to fore-corner of eye, 0 2 
Thence to opening of ear, 0 
Girth of body, behind shoulder,.. 2 5 
Longest fore-nail, . . 0 1§ 
Ditto hind ditto, 0 Of 
The skull is 5| inches long, 3f wide, and 
2% high. The width is taken, not between 
the zygomatic arches but between the aim 
of the transverse crista. There the lateral 
dimensions are largest owing to the grftat 
development of the transverse or lambdoi- 
dal ridge of the skull before it sweeps 
upwards to join the zygomatic arches. 
