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Show 362 DR. ST. G MIVART ON THE ARCTOIOEA. [Apr. 21, is nevertheless allied to Procyon. Its two species range from the southern parts of the United States to Central America. The soles of the feet are hairy. There are 13 dorsal, 7 lumbar, 3 sacral, and more than 23 caudal vertebrae. In addition to the cranial characters pointed out by Prof. Flower1, which are very fully given, there is nothing which need here be noted beyond the relatively large size of the infra-orbital foramen and of the postorbital processes of the frontals. The palate hardly extends beyond the last molars, but the mesopterygoid fossa is very long. Molar formulae P. \, M . |. The teeth are like those of Procyon, except that the fourth upper premolar narrows posteriorly. It has three external cusps (whereof the middle cusp is much the largest), and two internal cusps, the posterior one of which is much the smaller. Thus, but for the second internal cusp, it would be like the corresponding tooth of Paradoxurus. It is a really sectorial tooth. The first upper molar is like the same tooth of Procyon, except that it is relatively broader; house, P.Z. S. 1839, p. 137, note; Flower, P. Z. S. 1869, pp. 31-34; Lichtenstein's Darst. neu. Saug. pi. 43; Charlesworth, P. Z. S. 1841, p. 60; De Saussure, Rev. et Mag. de Zool. I860, p. 7, pi. i.; Peters, Monats. Berlin, 1874, p. 704, pis. i. & ii.; Baird, Mammals of N. Amer. p. 147, and Zool. of Mexican Boundary, part ii., Mammals, p. 17, pi. 14. figs. 2 a-e; Allen, Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey, vol. v. p. 336; Audubon, ii. p. 314, fig. 98; Paul Gervais, Voyage de la 'Bonite' (1841), and Mammiferes, vol. ii. p. 42; De Blainville, Osteographie, Mustela ; Turner, P. Z. S. 1848, p. 81; Wagner, Saug. Suppl. vol. ii. p. 277. This animal, called Cacomistle, is said to have somewhat the look of a Fox and the ringed tail of the Raccoon, and a body much like the Vison's. The fur soft, with long hairs interspersed. Ears well developed, erect, and pointed, almost naked externally, but clothed with short hairs within. The posterior edge is split. The whiskers are long, eyes rather large, and tail bushy, depressed, ringed black and white. Feet with naked pads, but the rest of the under surface hairy. Claws short, but partially retractile. The animal is about the size of a Cat, being 17J inches from the nose to the root of the tail, with the tail 16 inches long, exclusive of the hairs at its tip. It is of a dull brownish yellow mixed with grey (with long black hairs interspersed) above and whitish beneath. The tips of the ears, a spot above and below the eye, and the upper lip are yellowish white. The tail has 7 or 8 brownish-black rings (which become wider antero-posteriorly), with a black tip. It is called the "Cat-Squirrel" by the Texans. It lives amongst rocks and trees. It is not rare, but is seldom seen, being nocturnal. It is easily tamed and even domesticated, and makes a mild and playful pet; it is useful for destroying mice and rats, but is a very destructive animal to poultry, and is naturally bold. The female specimen which was killed is said to have fought furiously with claws and teeth, and shown no disposition to fly. Four or five young adhered to her teats so firmly that it required considerable force to detach them; though when they were removed the mother had been dead several hours, they showed uo signs of discomfort. It prefers to inhabit woods traversed by watercourses. It feeds on small quadrupeds and birds, and makes its nest in the trunks of trees, in holes from 12 to 18 inches deep, which are the result of natural decay. It is said, however, always to remove the bark round the mouth of the hole it inhabits, and when no such marks are to be detected, it, is a sign that the animal has abandoned that dwelling. The tail is carried bent over the back, much in the fashion of a Squirrel. It has three or four young at a birth. 1 P. Z. S. 1869, pp. 10 and 33, and fig. 3A. |