WEASEL FAMILY. 
47 
anatomy of the soft parts, it has been generally considered that the weasels are 
most nearly allied to the bears and raccoons; and, as a matter of convenience, it is 
found best to continue to place them in this position, as it somewhat simplifies 
classification. The evidence furnished by the numerous forms of extinct Carnivores, 
which have been discovered of late years in the middle and lower Tertiary rocks 
of Europe and North America, points, however, very strongly to the conclusion that 
the nearest allies of the weasels are in reality the civets, and that the former group 
is the direct descendant of the latter. If this view be true,—and the evidence in 
its favour is very strong indeed,—it follows that the structural resemblance of 
the weasels to the bears and raccoons is an instance of what is termed parallel 
development, and indicates no near genetic connection between the two groups. 
The family is a very widely distributed one, having representatives on all the 
great continents, with the exception of Australia. It attains, however, its maximum 
development in the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere; and it may be 
noted that none of its members inhabit Madagascar. In regard to coloration there 
is an enormous amount of variation. Several of the northern forms have a dark 
summer and a light winter dress, and thereby differ from all other Carnivores 
except the Arctic fox. Then a large number of the martens and weasels and all 
the otters are clothed with fur of a nearly uniform dark tint, while one of the 
martens and some of the badgers are remarkable for their extreme brilliance. 
Moreover, the American skunks and the Cape polecat ( Ictonyx ) are remarkable 
for their contrasting bands of black or dark brown and white, and thus form some 
of the most conspicuously-coloured of all mammals. It is also noteworthy that 
in the parti-coloured examples there is a great tendency for the under-parts of 
the body to be darker than the upper; whereas, it is scarcely necessary to observe, 
the reverse is the case in the great majority of mammals. Again, there is a 
tendency for the different colours to arrange themselves in longitudinal lines or 
patches, or so as to make the whole of the upper-surface of the body light, and its 
under-surface dark; and in no case are there either spots or transverse bands of 
colour, while equally noteworthy is the entire absence of alternating dark and 
light rings of colour on the tail. Many of the members of this family yield furs 
of great commercial value. 
The various members of the family are generally divided into three main 
groups, distinguished from one another by the characters of their teeth and claws. 
These groups are the weasels, the badgers, and the otters, which we proceed to 
consider in the order named. 
The Tayra and Grison. 
Genus Galictis. 
The first representatives of the weasel group are the peculiar South and 
Tropical American species, which are respectively known as the tayra and the 
grison. The principal distinctive features of the group to which these belong are 
briefly as follows. 
In the whole group the toes are short and only partially webbed, with short, 
