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Show 370 DR. ST. G. MIVART ON THE ARCTOIDEA. [Apr. 21, less complex in that it has the internal cingulum reduced. The lower grinders are like those of Arctonyx. The anal glands are large and their secretion approximates in offensiveness to that of the Skunks. Mephitis1.-In this genus the muzzle is pointed, the nostrils lateral, the feet narrow, with the palmar surfaces naked, the plantar surfaces partially hairy, and a long and bushy tail. There are several, probably three, species, all either North or Central American (ranging from Hudson's Bay and the Great Bear Lake to Guatemala) and extraordinarily variable not only in the markings of the long loose fur and in the degree of hairiness of the soles, but in the form of the cranium also. Yet the coloration is very consistent; black and white, the normal arrangement of which is-general colour black with white markings and for the most part more or less longitudinally disposed. The Skunks are terrestrial and more or less fossorial, with strong claws to the fore paws ; progression is semiplantigrade, and slow, and the general form of the body stout and rather low. There is no subcaudal pouch, but the anal glands are extraordinarily developed, invested by a muscular tunic, and their contents can be ejected a distance of fourteen feet, the tail being held erect and the anus everted. It does not ordinarily smell and may be eaten. The Skunk is more or less thoroughly nocturnal and is easily trapped. Its fur goes by the name of "Alaska sable." It does not become rare in settled districts 2, and is very prolific, bringing forth 8 or 10 young. It is more gregarious than most creatures of the weasel kind (Mustelida), more than one family congregating in one burrow. It eats worms, insects, birds' eggs, frogs, and mice, and sometimes rabbits, as also roots and berries ; it occasionally robs the poultry-yard, and is said to be fond of milk. It falls a prey to dogs and the Great Horned Owl. Its bite sometimes produces hydrophobia ; it can be readily semidomesticated like a ferret, and it is said sometimes to have had its anal glands successfully removed. The eye is small, nearer to the nose than to the ear; ears short and rounded. It has 16 dorsal, 6 lumbar, 2 sacral, and 21 caudal vertebras. The third phalanx of the third digit of the manus is relatively longer than in any other Carnivore except Taxidea. The length of the palate compared with that of the skull is less than that of auy other Arctoid except Putorius. 1 Shaw, G. Zool. i. (1800) p. 390, pi. 94; Gmelin, Linn. xiii. 1, p. 88; Humboldt, Obs. de Zool. p. 350; Buffon, xiii. p. 287, pi. 39 ; and Suppl. vii. p. 233, pi. 57 ; F. Cuv. Mamm.; Stev. U. S. Geol. Surv. for 1870, 1871, p. 461; Parker, Am. Nat. v. 1871, p. 246; Coues, Bull. U. S. Geol. & Geogr. Surv. Terr. 2nd series, no. 1 (1875), and Fur-bearing Animals, p. 187 ; Allen, Bull. TJ. S. Geol. Survey, vol. ii. no. 4. 1876, p. 332 ; Licht. Darstell. Saug. 1827-34, pi. 45, and Abh. Akad. Wiss. Berl. 1836-38, p. 280 ; Maximilian, Reise N. A. i. 1839, p. 250; Arch. f. Naturg. 1861; Wagner, Supp. ii. p. 198; Aud. & Bach. Q. N. A. i. 1849, pi. 42 ; Richardson, Zool. Beechey's Voy. 1839, p. 4; Wyman, Pr. Boston Soc. 1844, p. 110; Warren, Pr. Boston Soc. 1849, p. 175; Baird, N. Am. M a m m . p. 193 ; P. Gervais, M a m m . ii. p. 106; Biologia, p. 80. 2 Being so much protected by its secretion, which enables it to live without being able to run fast, climb trees, swim, or even burrow with great rapidity. |