Cahnivora. MAMMALIA. Carnivora. xli 
POLAR BEAR (Vrsus mnritimiis.Linn.) — -Plate 12, 
fig. 39. — The jSTannook, or White Bear, is eiiipliati- 
cally a marine animal, though not in the same sense 
as that of the Whale. Its powers of endurance, in 
the frozen .=eas in which it freely plunges for its 
game, are truly astonishing. The rich, silvery coat 
of this Bear has given rise to its name. His food is 
naturally of an animal nature, as any other would 
scarcely sustain the creature. It is a matter of great 
wonder that the Nannook can pursue with such ac- 
curacy his accustomed method of capturing fish. He 
will plunge into the icy waters, and in a surprisingly 
short period bring up a fish or young Seal that he has 
marked for a prize. His sense of smell is very keen ; this 
aids him materially in searching out the breathing- 
holes of Seals. At these apertures the White Bear 
watches with an intent to seize the first creature that 
shows a head or limb. He is said to swim under 
water with great ease, and to approach his prey in 
this manner, when there is an open sea to operate 
in. Its endurance is very great : it has been known 
to swim forty miles in crossing a strait. Though 
animal food is its appropriate nutriment in its chosen 
abodes, yet it more readily takes to vegetables and 
sweetmeats while in captivity. In some of the 
Zoological Collections it is fed on bread alone. 'I’he 
aspect of the White Bear is unmistakable : its head 
presents a peculiar shape ; the line of profile, from the 
forehead to the nose, is almost straight ; the foot is 
enormous, compared to that of other Bears, measur- 
ing one sixth of the length of the body, while that 
of the Black Bear is only one tenth. Its flesh is es- 
teemed by those who frequent the northern regions. 
The Esquimaux assert that the Bear has no evacua- 
tions during the period of hybernation. Females 
that are not pregnant roam abroad like the males, 
and do not always hybernate. See also vol. i, p. 84. 
THE SPECTACLED BEAR {Ursus ornatiis).— This 
is the only species inhabiting South America, where 
its range is over the Cordilleras. It is black, with 
the exception of two semicircular yellow marks above 
the eyes, which suggest the trivial name. 
Family— MUSd'E LID /E. 
iMustela, from the Latin, a Mouse. Pliny made 
use of this word to designate a species of fish ; it 
was at that time used also as the name of the Weasel. 
The typical genus now bears that name, and the 
group of Musteline animals naturally comes under the 
above family head. Species of this group are very 
numerous, a recent computation recording as many 
as ninety-two. They are distributed by late writers, 
such as Wallace and others, in eight sub-families, 
three of which liave representatives on the American 
continent. Under the sub-family name Musteline. 
we find arranged the Weasels, the Pole-Cats, Sables, 
Martens and the genus Galictis. Gulo, the genus 
which includes the Gluttons, we place with the Bears, 
in accordance with our plan to change as little as 
possible the uniformity of this work, the first part 
being arranged according to the system of Cuvier. 
Earlier authors have regarded the Glutton as approx- 
Yol. I.—/. 
imating the Bears in many important particulars. 
The Sub-Family Melinm includes the genera Meles 
and Arctonyx, Old World Badgers, the African 
'I’eludus.and the American Taxidoe, or Badgers. The 
latter are found under the Family Ursidos. Melli- 
'corincB, or Honey-eaters, as the name imports, are 
Indian and African Badger-like creatures, some of 
them called Ratels. Mephitinm heretofore in- 
cluded the American Skunks ; these notorious 
creatures having been preeminently considered so, 
with reference to their unique secretory functions, 
and such being so manifestly foul, the sub-family 
name is particularly apt. 'J’he fifth sub-family is 
Ictonycliinm, including the African genera Ictonyx 
and Zorilla. HelictidincB is Asiatic, with one 
genus — Helictis. Lutrinoe is represented by the 
Otters, and the Sea-Otters are included in the eighth 
and last sub-family— From the fact 
that the publications of the Smithsonian Institution 
will probably long remain as standard works of refer- 
ence for the student of Mammalia, we adhere to 
the arrangement of Prof. Baird, which places the 
Mustelidceo^ America in three sub-families, viz. : Mar- 
tinm Lritrinai and Melinm. Forms in the Family Mus- 
telidm vary considerably ; among them are the smallest 
Carnivora, and some, as the Otters, are quite bulky. 
A striking difference in form is noticeable, for ex- 
ample, between the Skunks and the Weasels. Their 
food varies in its character ; some are omnivorous, 
others are carnivorous. The absence of a ccecum in 
the intestines suggests a close relationship to the 
Bears ; on the other hand, they approximate the car- 
nivorous type only through the dental development, 
which subserves that group. The anal glands are 
developed to an extraordinary extent, which, in the 
Skunk of our country and in the 'I’eledu and similar 
forms of the Old World, have attained the maximum 
of mephitic potency. 
This group of the Carnivora is characterized as 
having, on either side of each jaw, a single tubercular 
molar tooth only. The sectorial premolar is typical 
in shape. The feet have five toes, and are planti- 
grade or digitigrade. 
Fossil Extinct Mustelid.®. 
Species of Otter, Weasel and the Badger and 
Glutton, noticed under Ursidce, occur in European 
bone caves and other Post Tertiary deposits. In 
North America a Galictis is found fossil and extinct, 
the present living species being confined to tropical 
regions. It occurs also in company with Mephitis 
in the Brazilian caves. Species of ]\[ustela liave 
been found in the Pliocene of France and of South 
America, and Lutra in the Pliocene of North Amer- 
ica. Five extinct genera have been found in Mio- 
cene caves of Europe, called 'I’axodon, allied to 
Badger and Otter, Potamotherium, an extinct form 
of Otter, Palaeomephitis, a Skunk-like creature, and 
forms belonging to existing genera Lutra and Mus- 
tek. In Greece was found an extinct genus, now 
called Promephitis — a form, as the name imports, re- 
sembling the Skunks, but preceding it in date of de- 
