Fig. 204.
Fig.204.—Spotted Hyaena.Crocuta maculata.×1⁄12.
The generaHyaenaandCrocuta, the Striped and Spotted Hyaena respectively, are African and Asiatic in range,Crocutabeing limited to South Africa. There is neither hallux nor pollex.
Fig. 205.
Fig.205.—Striped Hyaena.Hyaena striata.×1⁄12.
The Hyaenas, stigmatised by Sir Samuel Baker as "low-caste creatures," are mainly carrion feeders. Much Arab superstition is associated with them. Certain peculiarities in the structureof the organs of reproduction have led to the belief that a Hyaena changes its sex every year. Its almost human-sounding howls are supposed to be a deliberate trap for the unwary traveller. There is also a legend that in the eye of the Hyaena is a stone which if placed under the tongue of a man endows him with the gift of prophecy.
Protelespresents many resemblances to the Hyaenas, but also certain differences; by many it is placed in a separate family. There is but one species,P. cristata, the Aard Wolf of South Africa. In outward aspect it is very Hyaena-like, the coat being striped, and the ears, though longer, resembling those of a Hyaena. There is also a mane. There are, however, five toes on the fore-feet. The teeth are feebler, particularly the molars, which are also reduced in number. The skull, as inHyaena, has no alisphenoid canal, but the bulla tympani is divided by a septum. The animal seems to feed largely upon insects, particularly Termites, and also upon carrion.[275]
Of extinct HyaenoidsIctitheriumseems to be transitional between them and the Viverridae. Its dentition, 3/3, 1/1, 4/3, 2/1, is that of a Viverrid, and the feet are five-toed. The upper carnassial tooth, however, is like that ofHyaenain having a strong inner cusp. Other extinct genera of Hyaenas areLycyaenaandHyaenictis. The genusHyaenaitself goes back as far as to the Miocene, and occurred in Europe until the Pleistocene. The Cave Hyaena of this country seems to be indistinguishable fromCrocuta maculata, though it has received the name ofH. spelaea.
Fam. 5. Canidae.[276]—This family cannot be divided into more than five genera, and is universally distributed with the exception of New Zealand. The auditory bulla is smooth and rounded, and has internally a very incomplete septum, extending through about one-fourth or one-third of the cavity. The meatus has a fairly prominent under lip. The paroccipital process is long and prominent. The mastoid is distinct, though but slightly developed. The glenoid foramen is large; the condyloid foramen is conspicuous, and the carotid canal is deep within the foramen lacerum posterius. The last three characters are Bear-like; theform of the bulla is Aeluroid. The teeth vary somewhat in number, and the following table will serve to indicate the gradual reduction observable in the number of molars:—
All the Dogs have a caecum[277]of simple cylindrical form. InC. cancrivorus,C. jubatus, andNyctereutes procyonidesthis organ is straight or only very faintly curved; in other Dogs it is coiled into anS-like form, sometimes with an additional twist. The Dogs have, as a rule, five toes, one being dropped inLycaon. The tail is fairly long and distinctly bushy. There is in a number of species a gland at the root of the tail, the presence of which can frequently be detected by the wet appearance due to the oozing secretion. The great majority of existing Canidae belong to the genusCanis. But certainly three, and more doubtfully four, other genera can be distinguished.
The genusIcticyoncontains but one recent species, the Bush Dog (I. venaticus, Lund) of British Guiana. The animal has a somewhat Paradoxure-like, at any rate a distinctly un-dog-like, aspect, being longish in the body (some 2 feet long), shortish in the legs, and big-headed. It is blackish in colour, verging towards golden brown on the head and back. Sir W. Flower, to whom we owe our chief knowledge of its structure, characterises it as like a young Fox, and with the playful manners of a puppy. The animal appears to hunt in packs and by scent, and has a reputation for ferocity.Icticyondiffers fromCanisand agrees with the IndianCuonin having but forty teeth, the last molar having disappeared from the upper and lower jaws. The caecum, unlike that of the majority of Canidae, is only slightly curved. The brain, oddly enough, shows a Cat-like peculiarity. It has been pointed out that in their long bodies and short legs the generaCuonandIcticyonresemble the primitive dogs.[278]
A genusNyctereutesis usually separated fromCanisfor the inclusion ofN. procyonidesonly. The separation is based uponthe strikingly unusual coloration of this Dog. It is a small animal, with numerous long white hairs dorsally. The face, chest, and much of the belly are black. Its aspect distinctly recalls that of a Raccoon,[279]especially in the black patches below the eyes, whence of course the scientific name and the pseudo-vernacular "Raccoon-like Dog." It inhabits China and Japan. As to structure, there is hardly anything that justifies its exclusion from the genusCanis. Garrod, however, mentions the unusually large size of the Spigelian lobe of the liver.
Fig. 206.
Fig.206.—Raccoon-like Dog.Nyctereutes procyonides.×1⁄6.
Wortman and Malkens[280]have instituted a genusNothocyonfor Dr. Mivart's speciesC. urostictus[281]andC. parvidens, which are both South American forms.
The genusOtocyoncontains but one species,O. megalotis, an African species, ranging pretty widely in that continent (from the Cape to Somaliland, in sandy districts), and sometimes confused with the Fennec on account of its long ears. Its principal structural difference from other Dogs is that there is an additional molar in each jaw, the molar formula being thus M 3/4 or even 4/4. Moreover the carnassial teeth are not so pronounced, and Professor Huxley laid especial stress upon thelikeness of some of the cheek teeth to those of the more primitive Arctoids. The angle of the lower jaw is inflected, a character, however, which seems to be more general than is usually allowed among animals not referable to the Marsupials. It is possible thatOtocyonis a persistent Creodont-like form which has developed in a direction curiously, and in a most detailed fashion, parallel to the Dogs. If, however, we may assume the addition of the molar, then this anomalous but not necessarily untenable conclusion is obviated.
The genusCuon, orCyon, has been instituted for the two or three species of Eastern Dogs (C. primaevus,C. dukkunensis, etc.) which agree with each other in the constant loss of a molar in the lower jaw, or, it should be said, almost constant loss, for the missing tooth is occasionally represented. The latter of the two species mentioned, the Dhole, is, like its congeners, an animal which hunts in packs; it is said to hunt even the ferocious Tiger, and to be thus one of the few animals which can face the largest and fiercest of the Carnivora.
The genusLycaonis a very distinct type, being differentiated from other Dogs by the possession of only four toes on both fore- and hind-limbs, and by the dental formula, which is Pm 4/4 M 2/3. The one species isL. pictus, the Cape Hunting Dog. It is singularly like a Hyaena[282]in general appearance; the ochraceous grey ground-colour with black markings and the long ears produce this likeness. The animal has got its vernacular name from the habit of hunting in packs. Its range is over a good part of Africa. The occurrence of this species (or at least genus, for the nameL. anglicushas been used) in caves in Glamorganshire seems to show that it is a comparatively recent immigrant into Africa. As to its visceral structures,Lycaon[283]does not differ widely from other Dogs. It has, however, no lytta beneath the tongue. The intestines are thus divided: large, 9 feet 1 inch; small, 1 foot 3 inches. This contrasts with the proportions observable in some other Dogs. While other Dogs have but a cartilaginous rudiment of the clavicle,Lycaonhas a considerably larger representative of this bone.
Fig. 207.
Fig.207.—Fennec Fox.Canis zerda.×1⁄5.
Fig. 208.
Fig.208.—Prairie Wolf or Coyote.Canis latrans.× ⅛.
The bulk of the Dogs, Wolves, Foxes, and Jackals are thus left over for inclusion in the genusCanis. But the numerousmembers of this genus can, according to Professor Huxley, be sorted into two series by certain cranial characters. The two series he termed the "Alopecoid" or Fox-like, and the "Thooid" or Wolf-like. It was suggested that the generic nameVulpesbe used for the former, andCanisfor the second. The characters which will be dealt with immediately are also to be noted amongthe Dogs belonging to genera that have already been separated off. ThusLycaonis distinctly Thooid. The characters in question are these:—In the Fox series, the frontal air-sinus of the Thooids is absent; the cranial cavity is pear-shaped, without an abrupt angle coinciding with the supra-orbital sulcus, such as exists in the other group; the coronoid process of the mandible is rather higher and more turned back in the Foxes, while the depth of the mandible at the level of the first molar is greater.
Fig. 209.
Fig.209.—Japanese Wolf.Canis hodophylax.× ⅛ (FromNature.)
To the Fox series belong among others the speciesC. lagopus(Arctic Fox),C. zerda(the Fennec),C. chama(the Silver-backed Fox of Africa),C. virginianus(the Virginian Fox),C. velox(the Kit Fox), and of course the Common Fox of this country. On the other hand, the Dogs proper (such asC. dingo), the Wolves (C. lupus,C. pallipes,C. niger), the Japanese Wolf (C. hodophylax), the Red Wolf of America (C. jubatus), the Jackals (C. aureus,C. anthus, etc.), the Prairie Wolf (C. latrans), and a number of American forms, such asC. azarae, its close allyC. cancrivorus( =C. rudis),C. antarcticus,C. magellanicus, etc., are decidedly Wolves rather than Foxes.
The Arctic Fox,Canis lagopus, is known by its bluish summer and pure white winter dress as "Blue Fox" and "White Fox" respectively. It is an inhabitant of the Arctic north; but in former days, as its remains show, it descended to such southern latitudes as Germany and this country. The most southern point which it now inhabits is Iceland. This small Fox is well known as being one of the few animals which change their dress to a complete white in winter. This change is, however, not absolutely universal; and M. Trouessart has even stated that the supposed change does not exist, but that the colours are a question of age and sex. This Fox feeds on birds and cast-up carcases of Whales and Seals; it is also said to devour shell-fish, and actually to store up food when abundant for seasons of scarcity. A Fox has been observed to "carry off eggs in his mouth from an eider duck's nest, one at a time, until the whole were removed"; and in winter to "scratch a hole down through very deep snow to acacheof eggs beneath." These anecdotes are told by Sir Leopold M‘Clintock; but others have also asserted the storing habits of this Fox, which really has only a short time of the year in which it can catch suitable living food.
Canis vulpes, the Fox, is not only a native of England, but extends as far to the east as Egypt, the so-calledC. aegyptiacusbeing at most a mere variety. Varieties indeed occur in these islands; the English Fox being redder, the Scotch greyer. Not only is the Fox a truly indigenous English beast, but its remains go back a very long way into past time. Its bones occur in the Red Crag, a deposit of Pliocene times. Its prevalence now is no doubt due to its preservation as a beast of chase. It lives in burrows, either excavating them itself or taking possession of those of some other animal; the Badger suffers in this way, and is said to be vanquished not by the teeth of the burglarious Fox, but by its far fouler habits! It is curious that the expression "foxing" is not so suitable to this animal as to many others. The habit of "shamming death" is a widely-spread one in the animal world, but at least not common with our Fox. The sagacity of the Fox appears to be a little more proverbial than actual; literature teems with its accomplishments. The worthy Archbishop of Upsala, Olaus Magnus, figured Foxes dipping their tails in the streams, and then pulling out inquisitive crayfisheswhich had seized upon them. "It is a crafty, lively, and libidinous creature," observed a writer of the last century.
Of Jackals there are many species, both African and Oriental. Mr. de Winton allows the following list of African species[284]:—C. anthus,C. variegatus,C. mesomelas,C. lateralis.C. mesomelasis distinguished by the broad black patch in the middle of the back. These animals do not appear to go in packs as so many Canidae do; they live upon carrion, but also rob hen-roosts, and commit other depredations upon the live stock of farmers. The "Quaha,"C. lateralis, is distinguished from the last by its sharp bark, and by the obvious side stripe which has given to it its name. It is curious that it should live in apparent amity withC. mesomelas, since the habits of the two are identical and would lead, one might suppose, to a severe struggle for existence, in which one of the two would disappear. Of Indian JackalsC. aureusis the most familiar type.
Fig. 210.
Fig.210.—Wolf.Canis lupus.× ⅛.
The European Wolf,Canis lupus, was once, but is no longer, an inhabitant of the British Islands. Their former prevalence is indicated by many names of towns and villages, such as Ulceby and Usselby in Lincolnshire, the town of Wolverton, and Woolmer Forest. In Saxon times Wolves were very abundant; and even so recently as the reign of Elizabeth they were to be seen onDartmoor and in the Forest of Dean. In the New Forest they were hunted in the twelfth century. It would seem that the last English Wolf was slain some time during the reign of Henry VII. In Scotland, however, they persisted very much longer. So recently as 1743 was the last killed. But before this period they had begun to get exceedingly scarce, for the price of a skin in 1620 is quoted at £6:13:4. In Ireland Wolves lingered yet longer; about 1770 is believed to be the date of their final extinction in that island. The Wolf nowadays is distributed over the greater part of Europe, Northern Asia, and North America, the American form not being considered to be distinct from its European ally. Much legend has collected round this fierce Carnivore. Aristotle, usually accurate in the main, still "states more of wolves than experience warranted." Pliny, unable to sift truth from falsehood, was in this matter "an eager listener to all old women's tales." Aelian added to his marvels and asserted that the Wolf cannot bend its head back; if it should happen to tread on the flower of the squill it at once becomes torpid. So the wily fox, fearing his more powerful enemy, takes care to strew his path with squills! The conversion of men into Wolves was a well-known superstition, dating from Grecian and Roman times; it formed the basis of much of the witchcraft persecutions of the Middle Ages and onwards, and has left its mark in folklore,e.g.the Wolf in "Red Riding Hood."
The Indian Wolves,C. pallipes,C. chanco, andC. laniger, are hardly, if at all, different fromC. lupus. Professor Huxley has remarked upon the likeness ofC. pallipesto a Jackal, thus bridging over the very inconsiderable gap that may be held to divide Jackals and Wolves.
The Dingo,Canis dingo, is an interesting and somewhat mysterious species of Dog or Wolf. As is well known, it is an Australian species; but it does not seem to be certain whether it was tamed and brought over to Australia by the native races, or is a true and indigenous Australian species.
The colour of this species varies, but is usually of a reddish brown; it is, however, often grey and indeed almost black. Whether indigenous or introduced, the Dingo is a plague to Australian settlers, devouring Sheep, which it generally destroys by tearing out the paunch. It does not as a rule hunt in packs. The Dingo is stated to feign death with so much persistence thatan individual has been known to be partly flayed before moving. Dingo remains have been found in river-gravels in Australia where no human remains have been detected. This argues for its indigeneity; but, on the other hand, it has been pointed out that man himself in the Australian continent goes back a very long way into time, and may thus still have imported this companion with him. Anyhow it is quite a wild creature now. Dr. Nehring, an expert investigator into the subject of domestic animals, has stated that the skeleton of the Dingo does not suggest a feral animal at all but a purely wild race.
Fig. 211.
Fig.211.—Dingo.Canis dingo.× ⅛.
The Domestic Dog is usually spoken of asCanis familiaris; but to remains in bone caverns the name ofC. ferusorC. mikiihas been given. There seems to be no doubt that the Dog was the "friend of man" in very early times. Its remains have been met with in Danish kitchen-middens, in the lake-dwellings of the Swiss lakes, and during the Bronze Age in Europe generally. But "there are few more vexed questions in the archaeology of natural history than the origin of the dog." Its remains already referred to may in many cases have argued its use as food. But in a Neolithic barrow a Dog was found buried with a woman, theskeletons of both beingin situ; this animal was about the size of a Shepherd Dog. The actual Dog of to-day is divisible into more than 180 different breeds; but in a work upon "Natural History" it would seem out of place to enumerate and characterise these artificial products. Authors vary in their opinion as to what stock gave rise to the domestic races of the past and of to-day. The Jackal, the Bunasu (C. primaevus), the Indian Wolf (C. pallipes), have been proposed as likely ancestors. It is more probable that there is much admixture, and that various wild types have been selected by man in various countries.
Extinct Canidae.—Many of the existing species of Canidae are also to be found in Pleistocene deposits of the countries which they now inhabit. A few show a wider range in the immediate past than in the present. ThusLycaon(L. anglicus) has been met with in caves in Glamorganshire, whileIcticyonof South America appears to be congeneric withSpeothosof the Brazilian caves. The AfricanOtocyonseems to occur in deposits in India. There are also numerous extinct species belonging to the genusCanis, which extend as far back as the Pliocene.
The earlier types of Dogs have been placed in different genera.Cynodictisis an Eocene form from European strata. The skull is decidedly Civet-like, with a short snout. The fore- and hind-feet were five-toed, with well-developed pollex and hallux. The dentition was that of modern Dogs, the molars being two in the upper and three in the lower jaw. The general aspect of the creature and the form of the skeleton was much like that of the Viverrine genusParadoxurus, of which, as well as of the Dogs,Cynodictismight have been an ancestor.
Simocyonof the Upper Miocene serves as the type of a separate sub-family of Dogs, Simocyoninae. The skull is short, broad, and high; the shortening of the skull affecting the jaws has reduced the teeth greatly; the first three premolars are very small, fall out soon, and are thus often deficient. There are only two molars in each jaw. This type is of course nowhere near the ancestral Dog. It is a much-specialised branch of an early type.Cephalogaleis less specialised; there are the usual four premolars.Enhydrocyonis an intermediate form; it has lost one premolar in each jaw.
Amphicyon, forming the type of another sub-family, Amphicyoninae, though usually placed among the Dogs, presents us withmany Bear-like features in its organisation. The feet, for instance, were plantigrade and five-toed. The ulna and the radius are specially compared with the same bones in the Bear tribe. The skull on the other hand is as distinctly Dog-like in form. The molars are large, broad, and crushing, and Bear-like. The largest known species,A. giganteus, is of about the size of the Brown Bear.Amphicyonis a Miocene genus. Eocene and allied to it isPseudamphicyon. This genus has, likeAmphicyon, the complete dentition of forty-four teeth. In the Amphicyoninae generally the feet are five-toed, the humerus has an entepicondylar foramen and the femur a third trochanter. The upper molars are large.
The closely allied and American genusDaphaenushas also plantigrade feet, and has in its structure many reminiscences of the Creodonts. So, too, has the EoceneUintacyon.
Cynodesmusis closely allied toCynodictis. It has ancient features combined with quite modern ones. The skull is described as being Creodont-like, but the dentition is that of the microdont modern Dogs. In accordance with its age the cerebral convolutions of this Dog are much simpler than in existing Dogs, and the hemispheres do not cover the cerebellum so much.
The Bear-like Carnivora or Arctoidea.—That division of the Carnivora which is typically represented by the Bears embraces three recent families, which are united by a number of characters. These Carnivora are always plantigrade or nearly so. They have nearly always five toes. The claws are not retractile, or at most semi-retractile as in the Panda. In the skull the tympanic bulla is often depressed, and is not so globular and obvious as in the Cats. Its cavity is not divided by a septum. The paroccipital processes are not applied to it. The carnassial tooth is less emphasised in this group than in the Cats.
These characters, however, have to be used with caution, as they are hardly universally applicable. A fairly typical Arctoid bulla is seen in such a form asCercoleptes. The bulla itself is a little more swollen than inUrsus, but it is flattened off in the same way towards the bony meatus. The paroccipital processes, slightly developed, are at a distance of ¼-inch from the posterior margin of the bulla. In the Raccoon the bullae are much more swollen, and the paroccipital processes are closer to them. In the Marbled Polecat,Putorius sarmaticus, the bullae are fairlyswollen, and there is but little flattening towards the meatus: the paroccipital processes, though slight, are in contact with the bullae basally, though their free tips are turned away from them. Finally, inIctonyxthe bullae are much swollen; there is but little flattening towards the meatus, and the paroccipital processes, themselves much swollen, are pressed closely against the bullae. The Mustelidae, therefore, in this as in other characters, approach the Aeluroids.
Fig. 212.
Fig.212.—Section of the left auditory bulla and surrounding bones of a Bear (Ursus ferox).am, External auditory meatus;BO, basioccipital;Car, carotid canal;e, Eustachian canal;g, glenoid canal;Sq, squamosal;T, tympanic;t, tympanic ring. (From Flower,Proc. Zool. Soc.1869.)
There is no caecum, a feature which marks off the Arctoidea from all Carnivora except the ViverridsNandiniaandArctictis(occasionally). The brain is characterised by the possession of what Dr. Mivart has described as the "ursine lozenge," a tract about the middle of the hemispheres, defined posteriorly by the crucial sulcus, and formed by the emergence on to the surface of the brain of the hippocampal gyrus.
The Arctoidea are very widely distributed. But there are some curious exceptions. Thus there are no representatives of the group (as might be expected) in the Australian region; they are completely absent from Madagascar; while the true Bears (family Ursidae) are totally absent from Ethiopian Africa, and are only represented by a single species,Ursus ornatus, in the Neotropical region.
It is noteworthy that the Arctoidea never show spots orcross stripes (save rings on the tail), which are so common a feature of the coloration of the Cat-like forms.
In bracketing together the three families which are described in the following pages, emphasis is laid upon a number of undoubtedly common features. Palaeontology seems, however, to suggest that the Mustelidae come nearer to the Viverridae. That the Bears and Dogs are connected by extinct annectent genera does not interfere with their present distinctness.
The systematic arrangement of these Carnivora is not easy. It may be useful, however, to give a method of arrangement for the convenient placing of the genera.
The most primitive group is perhaps that of the true Bears, family Ursidae; for in them the molars are two above and three below, and have thus not become diminished in number as in some of the other members of the order. Moreover, the Bears have lobate kidneys, which character, often occurring in the young of animals which when adult have smooth kidneys, may be looked upon as a primitive character. The feet furthermore are completely plantigrade. This family will contain only three genera,Ursus,Melursus, andAeluropus.
Next comes the family Procyonidae, in several members of which one molar is lost below, though in others the more archaic formula is retained. The kidneys are simple. This family contains the American generaProcyon,Nasua,Bassariscus,Bassaricyon,Cercoleptes, and the Old-World formAelurus.
The third family, Mustelidae, has the molar formula reduced to 1/2 or 1/1. The kidneys are simple except in the Otters. To this family are assigned the following genera:—Arctonyx,Conepatus,Meles,Mephitis,Taxidea,Mydaus,Mellivora,Helictis,Ictonyx,Mustela,Galictis,Grisonia,Putorius,Gulo, and the aquaticLutra,Enhydris, andAonyx.
Fam. 6. Procyonidae.—This family is mainly American in range, the genusAelurusalone being a native of the Old World. But Zittel would include with the genera of this family the Viverrine and Oriental genusArctictis, a proceeding which is perhaps hardly admissible, though the occasional absence of a caecum in that animal is so far in favour of such an alliance. The largely vegetable nature of its food and its arboreal habits cause a certain amount of likeness to some of the members of the present group of Carnivores. The Procyonidae have twomolars in either half of each jaw. The carnassial teeth are not typically developed, and the molars are broad and tuberculate. The tail is long, often prehensile, and often ringed in the disposition of its colour pattern. The alisphenoid canal is absent save in the aberrantAelurus. Both condyloid and postglenoid foramina are present. The members of this family are plantigrade.
Fig. 213.
Fig.213.—Raccoon.Procyon lotor.×1⁄5.
The genusProcyonincludes at least two species of Raccoon, the northern form,P. lotor, and the South American,P. cancrivorus. To these may possibly be added a third,P. nigripes. This genus is characterised by the length and the mobility of the fingers, and indeed it uses its hands greatly. It has no median groove upon the muzzle, which is found in many other Arctoids; the ears are moderately large; the tail is not long, being about one-third of the entire length of the animal, including the tail. The soles of the feet are naked. Its limbs are very long (for an Arctoid), and this gives to the animal a bunched-up appearance when walking. There are four premolars and two molars on each side of each jaw. There are fourteen pairs of ribs, of which ten pairs reach the sternum. The latter is composed of nine pieces.
The first-named species has received its name from the fact—of which there is abundant proof—that it dips its food into water. As a matter of fact, the animal frequents the margins of streams, and hunts in the shallow water beneath stones forcrayfish, and it also captures fish. Not only is this animal partially aquatic, but it can climb well—"they make their homes in trees, but carry on their business elsewhere." The animal can be readily tamed, but is a tiresome pet on account of its insatiable curiosity and its skill in the use of its hands, which enables it to unlatch doors and generally to pry about everywhere. The Raccoons are mostly nocturnal creatures.
The genusBassaricyon[285]includes two species, both American,B. allenibeing from Ecuador, andB. gabbiifrom Costa Rica. They have so much the aspect of a Kinkajou that a specimen, which arrived at the Zoological Gardens, was presented and entered as one of those animals. Nevertheless there are many differences between the two genera. The tail ofBassaricyonis not prehensile, and the animal, as will be seen from Fig. 214, has a sharper snout; the brain is more like that ofBassariscus. The likeness toCercoleptescan hardly perhaps be regarded as an example of "mimicry" since the forms are so nearly related, and the advantage of such an imitation remains to be proved. The muzzle ofBassaricyonis grooved; the ears are fairly large; the soles of the feet are naked; there is but a single pair of teats. There are two molars and four premolars to each half jaw.
Fig. 214.
Fig.214.—Bassaricyon.Bassaricyon alleni.×1⁄5.
The dorsal vertebrae are thirteen in number; nine of the ribs reach the sternum. The slenderness and convexity of the lower margin of the lower jaw, as well as the feeble angular process, distinguish this genus from its undoubtedly near allyCercoleptes. The dental formula also is different.
Bassariscushas a ringed tail like a Raccoon, and is also American in range; it furthermore agrees with the Raccoon inbeing nocturnal and mainly arboreal in habit. There are apparently three species, of whichB. astutusis the best known, having been on several occasions exhibited at the Zoological Society's Gardens, the last examples so lately as 1900. The animal was for a long time believed to be allied to the Oriental Paradoxures, and its occurrence in America was therefore puzzling. The real affinities of the creature were, however, definitely set at rest by Sir W. Flower, and later accounts of its anatomy have confirmed this opinion.[286]The vertebrae are more numerous than inProcyon, and the teeth are slightly different; otherwise it presents many likenesses to its nearest ally. The ears are long; the nose is grooved; and the palms and soles are naked.
Fig. 215.
Fig.215.—Cunning Bassarisc.Bassariscus astutus.×1⁄5. (FromNature.)
The Kinkajou,Cercoleptes, is likewise an American Arctoid. It ranges from Central Mexico down to the Rio Negro in Brazil. It was at one time confounded, and, considering its external appearance, not unnaturally, with the Lemurs. Sir R. Owen dispelled this view by a careful dissection of the creature. Nevertheless, there are certain anatomical features in which it differsfrom Carnivora and resembles Lemuroids.[287]It has been pointed out that the form of the lower jaw "much resembles that of the LemuroidMicrorhynchus." There is, however, no doubt that it is rightly placed in the present group. The tail is very prehensile, and the animal is therefore, as might be supposed from this circumstance, purely arboreal. It has some twenty-eight vertebrae. This genus has a median groove upon the nose. The claws are long and sharply pointed, and the palms and soles of the feet are naked. The premolars are three, the molars two. There are fourteen dorsal vertebrae, of which nine are united to the nine-jointed sternum by ribs. There is but one species,C. caudivolvulus, of a uniform yellowish-brown colour.
Fig. 216.
Fig.216.—Kinkajou.Cercoleptes caudivolvulus.×1⁄6.
Fig. 217.
Fig.217.—Coati.Nasua rufa.×1⁄6.
Nasua, the Coati, ranges from Texas to Paraguay, and has two species. In Guatemala it reaches a height of 9000 feet on the mountains. The nose is produced into a short and verymobile proboscis, hence its name. The native Mexican name for the creature is "Quanhpecotl."
The Coati is largely arboreal, and hunts iguanas in large bands, some of them being on the trees and some on the ground beneath. It also grubs up worms and larvae, for which purpose its long snout is suited. The molars of the genus resemble those ofProcyon.
There is not a median groove upon the nose. The palms and soles are naked. Six teats occur. There are thirteen dorsal vertebrae.Nasua nasica[288]andN. rufaare the best known and perhaps the only species. The colour of the fur varies a good deal, and has led to the use of other names for supposed species.
Aelurus, the Panda, is a largish animal found in the south-eastern Himalayas up to a height of 12,000 feet. It has a glossy fur of a reddish colour, and a "white somewhat cat-like face." The molar formula which distinguishes it from the New-World Arctoids belonging to the Procyonidae, as well as from its possible allyAeluropus, is Pm 3/4 M 2/2. The anatomy of the animal has been described by Sir W. Flower.[289]Dr. Mivart has pointed out that the muzzle though short is upturned in a way distinctly recalling that ofNasua. The animal inhabits forests, and feeds almost entirely upon vegetable food. It eats eggs, however, and insects. Though living to a great extent upon the ground, it is also arboreal, and has sharp semi-retractile claws. It is said to be dull of sight, hearing, and smell, and yet with these disadvantages is also unprovided with cunning or ferocity. Its habits have been compared with those of a Kinkajou.
Fossil Procyonidae.—In addition to several of the existing genera, the remains are known of various extinct forms of Procyonidae.Leptarctus, with one species,L. primaevus, is of Pliocene age, but is known only by one ramus of the lower jaw. It appears to "offer a number of transitional characters between the more typical Procyonidae and the aberrantCercoleptes."[290]
Fam. 7. Mustelidae.—Contrary to what has been stated with regard to the habits of the Procyonidae, the Mustelidae are for the most part "bloodthirsty robbers," and are spread over thewhole surface of the world, with the exception of Australia and Madagascar. The molar teeth are generally reduced to one in the upper jaw, and sometimes to one in the lower jaw, which thus gives "a sort ofprima facieresemblance to the feline dentition." There is no alisphenoid canal; postglenoid and condyloid foramina are found.
Sub-Fam. 1. Melinae.—Of this sub-family there are representatives both in the Old and New Worlds.
Fig. 218.
Fig.218.—Badger.Meles taxus.×1⁄6.
Meles, the Badger, is exclusively Palaearctic in range.[291]Dr. Mivart says thatMeleshas a relatively longer dorsal region than any other Carnivore, and that it is most nearly approached by its alliesIctonyxandConepatus. The molar formula is, as inArctonyx,Mydaus, andHelictis, Pm 4/4 M 1/2. The molars differ from those of any other Carnivore in the much greater size of the first molars than of the last premolars. The nose is not grooved; the soles of the feet are naked. The claws of the fore-feet are much longer than those of the hind-feet.
The genusArctonyxis a "pig-like badger" from Hindostan, Assam, and North China. The epithet "pig-like" is derived from the long and mobile snout, which is truncated and has terminal nostrils. It is remarkable for having a part of the palate formed by the pterygoids, as in Whales and certain Edentata (e.g.Myrmecophaga). There are sixteen dorsal vertebrae.A. collarislives infissures of rocks, or in holes dug by itself. It is a purely nocturnal beast.
The singular genusMydaus, containing the speciesM. meliceps, the Teledu or Javanese Skunk, is an inhabitant of Java and Sumatra. It frequents the mountains of these islands, into the soil of which it burrows in search of worms and larvae. There is but one species, which is "like a miniature badger, of rather eccentric colours." It is blackish brown, with a yellowish-white top to its head, and a stripe of the same colour down the back. It may be distinguished by its elongated snout, obliquely truncated, and with inferiorly-placed nostrils. As to osteological characters, it has a more oblique symphysis of the mandible than in any other Carnivore. The secretion of the anal glands is said to rival that of the Skunk in offensiveness and in the distance to which it can be propelled.
Sub-Fam. 2. Mustelinae.—Representatives occur in both the Old and New Worlds; but the genera and even the species are in one or two cases common to both.