Otocyon.[477]—Dentition: i ³⁄₃, c ¹⁄₁, p ⁴⁄₄, m ³⁻⁴⁄₄; total 46 or 48. The molar teeth are thus in excess of any other living heterodont mammal. They have the same general characters as in Canis, with very pointed cusps. The lower carnassial shows little of its typical characters, having five cusps on the surface; these can, however, be identified as the inner cusp, the two greatly reduced and obliquely placed lobes of the blade, and two cusps on the talon. The skull generally resembles that of the smaller Foxes, particularly the Fennecs. The auditory bullæ are very large. The hinder edge of the mandible has a very peculiar form, owing to the great development of an expanded, compressed, and somewhat inverted subangular process. Vertebræ: C 7, D 13, L 7, S 3, C 22. Ears very large. Limbs rather long. Toes 5-4. One species, O. megalotis, from South Africa, rather smaller than a common Fox.

Professor Huxley looks upon this as the least differentiated or most primitive existing form of the family, regarding the presence of the four molar teeth as a survival of a condition of the dentition exhibited by the common ancestors of the existing Canidæ and the existing carnivorous Marsupials. There is, however, at present no palæontological proof of this, as none of the numerous fossil forms of Canidæ yet discovered have more than the normal number of molars.

Extinct Genera.—A large number of fossil Carnivora have been described from various Tertiary deposits which are more or less closely allied to the existing Canidæ, although, as already mentioned, connecting the latter so closely on the one hand with the Viverridæ and on the other hand with the Ursidæ, that it is almost, if not quite impossible to say where one family begins and the other ends. A few only of the more important of these annectant types will be mentioned here. Temnocyon, of the Miocene of the United States, is a true Dog, which agrees with Icticyon in having a secant hind talon to the lower carnassial, but preserves a generalised character in having an entepicondylar foramen to the humerus. An extremely interesting form is Cynodictis, of the Middle Tertiaries of Europe and the United States, which (as now restricted by Dr. Schlosser) includes a number of species mostly not larger than Foxes. The dental formula is generally the same as in Canis, but (as in that genus) the last lower molar may be absent. The teeth are very like those of Viverridæ, the lower carnassial never being greatly elongated antero-posteriorly, and its inner cusp being situated immediately on the inner side of the hinder lobe of the blade, instead of somewhat behind it, as is the case in most Dogs. In the skull the auditory bulla is inflated, but is said to have no distinct septum; while the humerus invariably has an entepicondylar foramen. It is suggested that Cynodictis is not far removed from the ancestral type of many of the Viverroids and Canoids, and may itself have been derived from the under-mentioned genus Amphicyon. M. Boule considers, indeed, that from the resemblance of the Pliocene Canis megamastoides (p. 553) to Cynodictis we ought to regard the Foxes and Jackals as the descendants of Cynodictis, while the Wolves have been derived directly from Amphicyon. The last named genus, which includes some species as large as a Bear, is found in the Upper Eocene and Lower Miocene of Europe, and is represented in the Miocene of the United States by the allied Daphœnus. It is characterised by the presence of three upper molars—thus bringing up the dental formula to the full Eutherian number; by the five digits on all the feet, which were plantigrade; and by the presence of a third trochanter to the femur and an entepicondylar foramen to the humerus. The teeth are essentially those of a dog, and the base of the skull is also dog-like, although it is highly probable that the auditory bulla had no trace of a septum. According, however, to Dr. Filhol[478] the minute foramina described by Professor Cope[479] in the postparietal and mastoid which occur in Ursus, but are said to be absent in Canis, are present in Amphicyon. So far, however, as we can see, the presence or absence of those foramina cannot be regarded as diagnostic of Ursus and Canis, although they are generally more strongly developed in the former. Amphicyon may, indeed, be considered as a very generalised Dog, with affinities to the Bears in the structure of its limbs. Dinocyon is a still larger form, from the Middle Miocene of France, which, so far as its teeth are concerned, connects Amphicyon with the Ursoid genus Hyænarctus so closely as to render it absolutely impossible to indicate any characters of family importance by which they can be distinguished. The upper carnassial of Dinocyon is unknown. For other genera, see p. 562.

Section Arctoidea.

This section includes a considerable number of forms which agree in the essential characteristics of the structures of the base of the cranium and reproductive organs, and in the absence of a cæcum to the intestinal canal. They have no Cowper’s glands, but there is a rudimentary prostate and a large cylindrical penial bone; while all the members of the group have five completely developed toes on each foot. Considerable diversity is found in the characters of the base of the skull in the various forms, but the following features are common to all. The cavity of the auditory bulla is simple, and has no trace of a dividing septum; the inferior lip of the auditory meatus (am, Fig. 254) is considerably prolonged; the paroccipital process (p) of the exoccipital is more or less triangular, directed backwards, outwards, and downwards, and standing quite apart from the bulla; the mastoid process (m) of the periotic is always widely separated from the paroccipital, and generally very prominent; the carotid foramen (car) is large, and placed on the inner margin of the bulla, usually near the middle, but occasionally more posteriorly; the condyloid foramen is distinct and exposed, and never sunk into a common opening with the foramen lacerum posticum; and the glenoid foramen is always present, and usually conspicuous. The alisphenoid canal is absent except in Ursus, Melursus, and Ælurus.

It has been already observed (p. 501) that the evidence of fossil forms, so far as it goes, is not in favour of the Arctoidea being a natural group; so that its retention must be regarded as a somewhat provisional measure, largely based on its convenience. The group may be divided into the three families, Ursidæ, Procyonidæ, and Mustelidæ.[480]

Family Ursidæ.

In existing forms the true molars ²⁄₃, with broad, flat tuberculated crowns. Typically the three anterior premolars of both jaws rudimentary and often deciduous. Fourth upper premolar (carnassial) with no third or inner root. An alisphenoid canal (except in Æluropus). Skull with the auditory bulla depressed, and scarcely at all inflated. Feet plantigrade. No entepicondylar foramen to the humerus. Kidneys conglomerate. Geographical distribution extensive.

Ursus.[481]—Dentition: i ³⁄₃, c ¹⁄₁, p ⁴⁄₄, m ²⁄₃; total 42. The three anterior premolars above and below one-rooted, rudimentary, and frequently wanting. Usually the first (placed close to the canine) is present, and after a considerable interval the third, which is situated close to the other teeth of the molar series. The second is very rarely present in the adult state. The fourth (upper carnassial) differs essentially from the corresponding tooth of other Carnivores in wanting the inner tubercle supported by a distinct root. Its sectorial characters are very slightly marked, and it is much smaller than the first molar. The crowns of both the true molars are longer than broad, with flattened, tuberculated, grinding surfaces. The second has a large backward prolongation or heel. The lower carnassial has a small and indistinct blade and greatly developed tubercular heel. The second molar is of about the same length, but with a broader and more flattened tubercular crown. The third is smaller. The milk-teeth are comparatively small, and shed at an early age. Skull more or less elongated. Orbits small and incomplete behind. Palate prolonged considerably behind the last molar tooth. Vertebræ: C 7, D 14, L 6, S 5, C 8-10. Body heavy. Feet broad, completely plantigrade; the five toes on each foot all well developed, and armed with long compressed and moderately curved non-retractile claws. Palms and soles naked. Tail very short. Ears moderate, erect, rounded, hairy. Fur generally long, soft, and shaggy.

The Bears are all animals of considerable bulk, and include among them the largest members of the order. Though the species are not numerous, they are widely spread over the earth’s surface (but absent from the Ethiopian and Australian regions, and only represented by one species in the Neotropical region), and differ much among themselves in their food and manner of life. They are mostly omnivorous or vegetable feeders, and even the Polar Bear, usually purely carnivorous or piscivorous, devours grass with avidity in summer. The various species maybe arranged in the following groups:—

Thalassarctine Group.—Head comparatively small, molar teeth small and narrow. Soles more covered with hair than in the others. This group is represented only by the well-known Polar or White Bear (U. maritimus) of the Arctic regions, which is one of the few mammals which are completely white at all seasons of the year.

The typical, or Ursine, group includes a number of species, of which the Common Brown Bear (U. arctos) is the best known example. This species is an exceedingly variable one, and has a very wide range in the Palæarctic region; the Syrian form described as U. syriacus, as well as the Hairy-eared Bear (U. piscator, Fig. 255) of North-Eastern Asia, and the Snow-Bear (U. isabellinus) of Kashmir and Nipal, not being specifically separable. The Brown Bear hibernates in cold regions, and in the Himalaya keeps to comparatively high regions, emerging from its winter lair in March, April, or May, according to the season and elevation, to feed on the numerous bulbous plants which abound in the regions it inhabits. Both the Syrian and Himalayan varieties are generally of lighter colour and smaller size than the typical European form. Bears were at one time found in the British Isles, from which, however, they have been long since exterminated. They are still found in the Pyrenees, and are comparatively abundant in parts of Norway, Hungary, and Russia. In the Kashmir Himalaya they were very abundant in some districts a few years ago, one of the present writers having in 1874 seen no less than seven examples at one time from the top of a mountain ridge; of late years their numbers have, however, been greatly diminished. The Brown Bear, although with strong powers of smelling, is very slow of sight and hearing, and in the Himalaya it is easy to approach so near that they may be shot with a smooth-bore gun. The Grizzly Bear (U. horribilis) of North America is so closely allied to the Brown Bear that some writers think it should only rank as a very well-marked local variety. The Black Bears of the Himalaya (U. torquatus), Japan (U. japonicus), and North America (U. americanus) belong to this group. The Himalayan species ranges from Persia to Assam, and thence to China and Formosa. In the greater part of this area it is essentially a forest animal, and may be found in autumn in the forests of the Kashmir valley feeding upon chestnuts and other fruits. It is also exceedingly fond of maize, mulberries, and walnuts; and a few years ago it was no very uncommon sight to see three or even five of these bears up a single mulberry or walnut tree in Kashmir. The Spectacled Bear (U. ornatus) of the Peruvian Andes is another member of this group.

The Helarctine group is represented only by the Malay Bear or Sun Bear (U. malayanus), in which the head is short and broad; the molar teeth are comparatively broad (but the length still exceeding the breadth), the tongue is very long and extensile, and the fur short and smooth. This small species inhabits the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Tenasserim, Arakan, Chittagong, and the Garo hills of India; it inhabits forest districts, and is an expert climber.

The earliest known occurrence of the genus is in the Lower Pliocene of the Indian Siwalik Hills; where it is represented by U. theobaldi, which was probably the ancestor of the existing Melursus. The genus is represented in the Upper Pliocene of Europe by the small U. etruscus; and in the Pleistocene by the existing U. arctos, as well as by the great extinct Cave-Bear (U. spelæus), distinguished by the complexity of the crowns of the molars and the total loss of the three anterior premolars in the adult condition. Remains of Bears are also found in cavern-deposits in the north of Africa. The small U. namadicus, from the Pleistocene of the Narbada valley, India, may have been allied to U. malayanus.

Melursus.[482]—This differs from the true Bears in the first upper incisor being absent or shed at a very early age, in the very small size of the other teeth, in the very large extensile lips, the deep concavity of the palate, and other minor characters. The one species, M. labiatus, the well-known Sloth-Bear of India, feeds chiefly on black ants, termites, beetles, fruit, honey, etc. This species inhabits peninsular India, from near the Himalaya to Cape Comorin and Ceylon, and its remains are found in the cavern-deposits of Madras. The black hair is very long and coarse; there is a light horse-shoe-shaped mark on the chest (as in Ursus torquatus), and the extremity of the muzzle is of an ashy gray.

Æluropus.[483]—Dentition: i ³⁄₃, c ¹⁄₁, p ⁴⁄₃, m ²⁄₃; total 40. Premolars large, increasing in size from first to last, and two-rooted except the first. First upper molar with quadrate crown, broader than long; second larger than the first. Cranium with zygomatic arches and sagittal crest immensely developed, and ascending ramus of mandible very high, giving greater spaces for attachments of temporal muscle than in any other existing member of the order. Facial portion short. Bony palate not extending behind the last molar tooth. No alisphenoid canal. Feet bear-like, but soles more hairy, and perhaps less completely plantigrade. Fur long and thick. Tail very short. One extremely rare species, A. melanoleucus (Fig. 256), discovered by Père David in 1869, in the most inaccessible mountains of Moupin in Eastern Tibet. Said to feed principally on roots, bamboos, and other vegetables. It is of the size of a small Brown Bear, of a white colour, with ears, spots round the eyes, shoulders and limbs black. In the large size and complex crowns of the upper premolars this genus differs very markedly from the true Bears. The fourth upper premolar (carnassial) makes no approach to the markedly sectorial type presented by the corresponding tooth of Hyænarctus, its structure being, on the whole, more like that of Ælurus.

Extinct Genera.—The genus Arctotherium includes some very large Bear-like animals from the Pleistocene of South America and California, in which the dentition departs less widely from a normal carnivorous type than in the true Bears. Thus the upper carnassial (Fig. 257) is relatively larger than in Ursus; while the crowns of the upper molars are broader and shorter. The humerus is said to have an entepicondylar foramen. Hyænarctus, of the Miocene and Pliocene of Europe and Southern Asia, has the crowns of the upper molars either square or triangular; the upper carnassial having three distinct lobes to the blade, while the lower carnassial is practically indistinguishable from that of the Dog-like Dinocyon (p. 556). The proximal extremity of the ulna differs from that of Ursus in having a long olecranon, and thereby resembles the corresponding bone of the Dogs. Indeed all the characters at present available tend to show a complete passage from the Tertiary Dog-like animals, through Dinocyon, Hyænarctus, and Arctotherium, to the true Bears. Most of the species of Hyænarctus were of very large dimensions, but smaller forms occur in the Miocene. Cephalogale, of the Continental Tertiaries, is a genus represented by several species of medium size showing evident signs of affinity with Hyænarctus. The upper molars have subtriangular crowns, while the carnassial is short, and has two comparatively low lobes. Here also may be mentioned several other genera, apparently more or less closely allied to the present group, some of which are regarded by Dr. Schlosser as showing marked signs of affinity to the Procyonidæ. Among these are Simocyon from the Pliocene of Europe, with p ²⁄₂₋₄, m ²⁄₂; and Enhydrocyon of the North American Miocene, with p ³⁄₃, m ²⁄₂, a secant talon to the lower carnassial, and a very short skull. The Miocene Ælurodon comprises several large North American forms, having a trilobed upper carnassial like that of Hyænarctus, and a dental formula similar to that of the latter and Canis Prohyæna is founded upon a much-worn jaw of Ælurodon. Hyænocyon, of the Miocene of the United States, with p ³⁄₃, m ¹⁄₂, appears to be an allied form, also having a trilobed upper carnassial.

Family Procyonidæ.

True molars ²⁄₂, tuberculated or multicuspid; upper carnassial short and broad. Alisphenoid canal absent, except in Ælurus. Feet plantigrade. Tail generally annulated. In some cases an entepicondylar foramen to the humerus. Typically American, but with the outlying Oriental genus Ælurus.

Ælurus.[484]—Dentition: i ³⁄₃, c ¹⁄₁, p ³⁄₄, m ²⁄₂; total 38. First lower premolar very minute and deciduous. Molars (Fig. 259) remarkable for their great transverse breadth and the numerous cusps of their crowns. Vertebræ: C 7, D 14, L 6, S 3, C 18. Skull (Fig. 259) high and compressed, very convex, with the facial portion short, the palate convex antero-posteriorly, and the ascending ramus of mandible extremely high. Head round. Face short and broad. Ears large, erect, pointed. Limbs stout, with large sharp semiretractile claws. Tail nearly as long as body, cylindrical, annulated, and clothed with long hairs. Fur long and thick. One existing species, Æ. fulgens, the Panda (Fig. 258), an animal rather larger than a Cat, found in the South-East Himalaya, at heights of from 7,000 to 12,000 feet above the sea, among rocks and trees, and chiefly feeding on fruits and other vegetable substances. Its fur is of a remarkably rich reddish-brown colour, darker below.

The genus Ælurus has been made the type of a distinct family, but its relationship to the Raccoons is regarded by Mr. W. T. Blanford[485] as sufficiently close to admit of its being included in the same family. According to this zoölogist the Panda often sleeps coiled up like a Cat, with the bushy tail over its head, but at other times resting on its legs with the head tucked under the chest and between the fore legs, after a manner said to be common with the Raccoons. Although by no means strictly nocturnal, these animals sleep much during the day, and roam out in search of food in the morning and evening. The young are born in a very helpless condition, and remain for a long period concealed in the holes of trees or rocks.

Fossil remains of a species of Ælurus (Æ. anglicus) have been obtained from the English Pliocene Crag deposits which indicate an animal of about one and half times the size of Æ. fulgens. The first evidence of this fossil species was afforded by part of the mandible with the last molar in place, and the subsequent discovery of an entire first upper molar renders full confirmation of the generic determination. This distribution of Ælurus is very important, as showing how its area may have once approximated to that of the ancestors of the American representatives of the family. It is probable that the genus existed in India during the Siwalik period.

The whole of the under-mentioned genera are American, and are characterised by the absence of an alisphenoid canal in the skull.

Procyon.[486]—Dentition: i ³⁄₃, c ¹⁄₁, p ⁴⁄₄, m ²⁄₂; total 40. The molar teeth broad and tuberculated (Fig. 259). The upper carnassial with three cusps along the outer margin, and a very broad bicuspid inner tubercle, giving an almost quadrate form to the crown. First molar with a large tuberculated crown, rather broader than long; second considerably smaller, with transversely oblong crown. Lower carnassial with an extremely small and ill-defined blade, placed transversely in front, and a large inner cusp and hind talon. Second molar as long as the first, but narrower behind, with five obtuse cusps. Vertebræ: C 7, D 14, L 6, S 3, C 16-20. Body stout. Head broad behind, but with a pointed muzzle. Limbs plantigrade, but in walking the entire sole is not applied to the ground as it is when the animal is standing. Toes, especially of the fore foot, very free, and capable of being spread wide apart. Claws compressed, curved, pointed, and non-retractile. Tail moderately long, cylindrical, thickly covered with hair, annulated, non-prehensile. Fur long, thick, and soft. The well-known Raccoon[487] (Procyon lotor, Fig. 260) of North America is the type of this genus. It is a clumsy thickly-built animal about the size of a Badger, with a coat of long coarse grayish-brown hairs, short ears, and a bushy black and white ringed tail. Its range extends over the whole of the United States, and stretches on the west northwards to Alaska and southwards into Central America, where it attains its maximum size. The following notes on the habits of the Raccoon are taken from Dr. C. H. Merriam’s Mammals of the Adirondack Region:—

“Raccoons are omnivorous beasts, and feed upon mice, small birds, birds’ eggs, turtles and their eggs, frogs, fish, crayfish, molluscs, insects, nuts, fruits, maize, and sometimes poultry. Excepting the bats and flying squirrels, they are the most strictly nocturnal of all our mammals, and yet I have several times seen them abroad on cloudy days. They haunt the banks of ponds and streams, and find much of their food in these places, such as crayfish, mussels, and fish, although they are unable to dive and pursue the latter under water, like the otter and mink. They are good swimmers, and do not hesitate to cross rivers that lie in their path.... The Raccoon hibernates during the severest part of the winter, retiring to its nest rather early, and appearing again in February or March, according to the earliness or lateness of the season. It makes its home high up in the hollow of some large tree, preferring a dead limb to the trunk itself. It does little in the way of constructing a nest, and from four to six young are commonly born at a time, generally early in April in this region. The young remain with the mother about a year.”

The South-American P. cancrivorus, the Crab-eating Raccoon, is very similar to P. lotor, but differs by its much shorter fur, larger size, proportionally more powerful teeth, and other minor characters. It extends over the whole of South America, as far south as the Rio Negro, and is very common in all suitable localities. Its habits are similar to those of the North-American species. Fossil remains of Procyon have been described from the Pleistocene deposits of the United States.

Bassaris.[488]—A form closely allied to Procyon, but of more slender and elegant proportions, with a sharper nose, longer tail, and more digitigrade feet, and with teeth otherwise like, but smaller, and more sharply denticulated. It was formerly, but erroneously, placed among the Viverridæ. Two species:—B. astuta, from the southern parts of the United States and Mexico, and B. sumichrasti, from Central America.

Bassaricyon.[489]—This name has been given to a distinct modification of the Procyonine type of which at present only two examples are known, one from Costa Rica and the other from Ecuador, which, appearing to be different species, have been named B. gabbi and B. alleni. They much resemble the Kinkajou (Cercoleptes) in external appearance, but the skull and teeth are more like those of Procyon and Nasua.

Nasua.[490]—Dentition as in Procyon, but the upper canines are larger and more strongly compressed, and the molars smaller. The facial portion of the skull is more elongated and narrow. Vertebræ: C 7, D 14, L 6, S 3, C 22-23. Body elongated and rather compressed. Nose prolonged into a somewhat upturned, obliquely truncated, mobile snout. Tail long, non-prehensile, tapering, annulated. These animals, commonly called Coatis or Coati-Mundis, live in small troops of eight to twenty, are chiefly arboreal, and feed on fruits, young birds, eggs, insects, etc. Recent researches have reduced the number of supposed species to two, N. narica of Mexico and Central America, and N. rufa of South America from Surinam to Paraguay. Remains of this genus, mostly referable to the existing species, occur in the cavern-deposits of Brazil.

Cercoleptes.[491]—Dentition: i ³⁄₃, c ¹⁄₁, p ³⁄₃, m ²⁄₂; total 36. Molars with low flat crowns, very obscurely tuberculated. Skull short and rounded, with flat upper surface. Vertebræ: C 7, D 14, L 6, S 3, C 26-29. Clavicles present, but in a very rudimentary condition. Head broad and round. Ears short. Body long and musteline. Limbs short. Tail long, tapering, and prehensile. Fur short and soft. Tongue long and very extensile. But one species of this somewhat aberrant genus is known, C. caudivolvulus, the Kinkajou, found in the forests of the warmer parts of South and Central America. It is about the size of a Cat, of a uniform, pale, yellowish-brown colour, nocturnal and arboreal in its habits, feeding on fruit, honey, eggs, and small birds and mammals, and is of a tolerably gentle disposition and easily tamed.

Family Mustelidæ.

True molars ¹⁄₂ (or ¹⁄₁ in Mellivora[492]). No alisphenoid canal. In the upper molar the inner tubercular portion is always longer in the antero-posterior direction than the secant external portion; the degree of inflation of the auditory bulla is but slight; and the palate is generally much produced behind the last molars, as is the case with the members of the preceding family. The post-glenoid process of the cranium is generally considerably curved over the glenoid fossa, so as to hold very tightly the condyle of the mandible. The humerus may or may not have an entepicondylar foramen. Except in the Otters, the kidneys resemble those of the Procyonidæ in being of simple structure.

This family is a large and widely distributed one, especially in the northern temperate regions of the earth. The different genera, which are very difficult to arrange in any natural order, are rather artificially divided, chiefly according to the characters of their feet and claws, into the Otter-like (Lutrine), Badger-like (Meline), and Weasel-like (Musteline) forms.

Subfamily Lutrinæ.—Feet short, rounded (except the hind feet of Latax). Toes webbed. Claws small, curved, blunt. Head broad and much depressed. Upper molar large and quadrate, with its inner tubercular portion much expanded antero-posteriorly (Fig. 261). Kidneys conglomerate. Habits aquatic.

Lutra.[493]—Dentition: i ³⁄₃, c ¹⁄₁, p ⁴⁄₃, m ¹⁄₂; total 36. Upper carnassial with a trenchant tricuspid blade, and a very large inner lobe, hollowed on the free surface, with a raised sharp edge, and extending along two-thirds or more of the length of the blade. True molar large, with a quadricuspidate crown, broader than long. First upper premolar very small, and in some cases absent (Fig. 261). Skull broad and depressed, contracted immediately behind the orbits. Facial portion very short; brain case large. Vertebræ: C 7, D 14-15, L 6-5, S 3, C 20-26. Body very long. Ears short and rounded. Limbs short. Feet more or less completely webbed; claws usually well developed on all the toes, although they may be rudimentary or absent. Tail long, thick at the base and tapering, rather depressed. Fur short and close. The humerus may or may not have an entepicondylar foramen. In conformity with the shape of the skull, the posterior part of the brain is expanded laterally.

The Common British Otter (L. vulgaris), as the type of the genus, may be described somewhat fully. It has an elongated, low body, short limbs, short broad feet, with five toes on each, connected together by webs, and all with short, moderately strong, compressed, curved, pointed claws. Head rather small, broad, and flat; muzzle very broad; whiskers thick and strong; eyes small and black; ears short and rounded. Tail a little more than half the length of the body and head together, very broad and strong at the base, and gradually tapering to the end, somewhat flattened horizontally. The fur is of very fine quality, consisting of a short soft under fur of a whitish-gray colour, brown at the tips, interspersed with longer, stiffer, and thicker hairs, very shining, grayish at the base, bright rich brown at the points, especially on the upper parts and outer surface of the legs; the throat, cheeks, under parts and inner surface of the legs brownish-gray throughout. Individual Otters vary much in size; but the total length from the nose to the end of the tail averages about 3½ feet, of which the tail occupies 1 foot 3 or 4 inches. The weight of a full-sized male is from 18 to 24 lbs., that of a female about 4 lbs. less.

As the Otter lives almost exclusively on fish, it is rarely met with far from water, and usually frequents the shores of brooks, rivers, lakes, and, in some localities, the sea itself. It is a most expert swimmer and diver, easily overtaking and seizing fish in the water, but when it has captured its prey it brings it to shore to devour it. When lying upon the bank it holds the fish between its forepaws, commences at the head, and then eats gradually towards the tail, which it is said always to leave. The female produces three to five young ones at a time, in the month of March or April, and brings them up in a nest formed of grass or other herbage, usually placed in a hollow place in the bank of a river, or under the shelter of the roots of some overhanging tree. The Common Otter is found in localities suitable to its habits throughout Great Britain and Ireland, though far less abundantly than formerly, for, being very destructive to fish, and thus coming into keen competition with those who pursue the occupation of fishing either for sport or for gain, it is rarely allowed to live in peace when once its haunts are discovered. Otter-hunting with packs of hounds of a special breed, and trained for the purpose, was formerly a common pastime in the country. When hunted down and brought to bay by the dogs, the Otter is finally despatched by long spears carried for the purpose by the huntsmen.

The Common Otter ranges throughout the greater part of Europe and Asia, the Indian L. nair not being distinct. A closely allied but larger species, L. canadensis, is extensively distributed throughout North America, where it is systematically pursued by professional trappers for the value of its fur. The Common Otter is regularly trained by the natives of some parts of Bengal to assist them in fishing, by driving the fish into the nets. In China Otters are taught to catch fish, being let into the water for the purpose attached to a long cord.

Otters are widely distributed over the earth, and, as they are much alike in size and coloration, their specific distinctions are by no means well defined.[494] Besides those mentioned above, the following may be noticed. In the Oriental region there are L. ellioti[495] of India, L. sumatrana of the Malay countries, and L. cinerea ranging over the greater part of the region. The latter species (often known as L. leptonyx) is of small size, with a short head, and rudimentary claws, which may be absent; it was at one time regarded as generically distinct, under the name of Aonyx. The upper true molar (Fig. 261) is characterised by the great development of its inner tubercular portion, and the first upper premolar is absent. In the Ethiopian region there are two species, L. capensis and L. maculicollis. Of the Neotropical forms it will suffice to mention the small L. felina and the large L. brasiliensis. The latter is by far the largest of the existing forms, and is characterised by the presence of a prominent flange-like ridge along each lateral margin of the tail, on which account it was referred by Dr. Gray to a distinct genus, with the name of Pteronura sambachi. It should be observed that all Otters have a very distinct inner cusp to the blade of the lower carnassial, but that the relative size of this cusp varies in the different species.

Extinct Otters.—Several species of fossil Otters have been described. Thus in the Indian Siwaliks we have L. palæindica, which is closely allied to L. sumatrana, and a larger form described as L. bathygnathus. The Pliocene of Hessen-Darmstadt yields L. hessica; while L. dubia, of the Middle Miocene of France, is a species characterised by the small size of the inner cusp of the lower carnassial—a character in which it resembles those Tertiary forms described as Trochictis, which are believed to connect Lutra with the Mustelinæ. Two very large Otters, respectively from the Indian Siwaliks and the Italian Miocene, named L. sivalensis and L. campanii, may be regarded either as representing a very distinct Enhydriodont group of Lutra or as referable to a separate genus Enhydriodon. They are characterised by certain peculiarities in the structure of the teeth, and the second upper premolar may be absent in the Indian form. Lastly, the genus Potamotherium contains a small Otter (P. valetoni) from the Lower Miocene of the Continent, which differs from all other known Mustelidæ in having a minute second upper true molar. This species is evidently a very generalised form approximating to the Viverridæ in its dental formula, and also in the characters of the teeth themselves. The brain, as recently described by Dr. Filhol, differs from that of Lutra and other Mustelines in the great relative width of the anterior extremity of the hemispheres and olfactory lobes, and also in the disposition of the sulci, in both of which respects it more nearly resembles the Viverridæ.

Latax.[496]—Dentition: i ³⁄₂, c ¹⁄₁, p ³⁄₃, m ¹⁄₂; total 32. Differs from all other existing Carnivora in having but two incisors on each side of the lower jaw, the one corresponding to the first (very small in the true Otters) being constantly absent. Though the molar teeth generally resemble those of Lutra in their proportions, they differ very much in the exceeding roundness and massiveness of their crowns and bluntness of their cusps. Feet webbed. Fore feet small, with five subequal toes, furnished with short compressed claws; palms naked. Hind feet very large, depressed, and fin-like. The phalanges flattened as in the Seals. The fifth toe the longest and stoutest, the rest gradually diminishing in size to the first, all with moderate claws. Tail moderate, cylindrical, and obtuse; about one-fourth the length of the head and body.

The Sea-Otter (L. lutris, Fig. 262) is the sole representative of this genus. The entire length of the animal from nose to end of tail is about 4 feet, so that the body is considerably larger and more massive than that of the English Otter. The skin is peculiarly loose, and stretches when removed from the animal so as to give the idea of a still larger creature than it really is. The pellage is remarkable for the preponderance of the beautifully soft woolly under fur, the longer stiffer hairs being very scanty. The general colour is a deep liver brown, everywhere silvered or frosted with the hoary tips of the longer hairs. These are, however, removed when the skin is dressed for commercial purposes.

Sea-Otters are only found upon the rocky shores of certain parts of the North Pacific Ocean, especially the Aleutian Islands and Alaska, extending as far south on the American coast as Oregon; but, owing to the unremitting persecution to which they are subjected for the sake of their skins, which rank among the most valuable known to the furrier, their numbers are greatly diminishing, and, unless some restriction can be placed upon their destruction, such as that which protects the Fur-Seals of the Pribyloff Islands, the species is threatened with extermination, or, at all events, excessive scarcity. When this occurs, the occupation of five thousand of the half-civilised natives of Alaska, who are dependent upon Sea-Otter hunting as a means for obtaining their living, will be gone. The principal hunting grounds at present are the little rocky islets and reefs around the island of Saanach and the Chernobours, where they are captured by spearing, clubbing, or nets, and recently by the more destructive rifle bullet. They do not feed on fish, like the true Otters, but on clams, mussels, sea-urchins, and crabs, for the mastication of which the blunt cusps of their teeth are admirably suited. The female brings forth but a single young one at a time, apparently at any season of the year. They are excessively shy and wary, and all attempts to rear the young ones in captivity have hitherto failed.

Subfamily Melinæ.—Feet elongated. Toes straight. Claws non-retractile, slightly curved, subcompressed, blunt; those of the fore foot especially large. Upper molar variable. Kidneys simple. Habits mostly terrestrial and fossorial.

Mephitis.[497]—Dentition: i ³⁄₃, c ¹⁄₁, p ³⁄₃, m ¹⁄₂; total 34. Upper molar larger than the carnassial, subquadrate, rather broader than long. Lower carnassial with talon less than half the length of the whole tooth. Bony palate terminating posteriorly opposite the hinder border of the last molar tooth. Facial portion of skull short and somewhat truncated in front. Vertebræ: C 7, D 16, L 6, S 2, C 21. Head small. Body elongated. Limbs moderate, subplantigrade. Ears short and rounded. Tail long, abundantly clothed with very long fine hair. Anal glands largely developed. The secretion of these glands, which can be discharged at the will of the animal, has an intolerably offensive odour, which circumstance has rendered the Skunks, as they are commonly called, proverbial. They are strictly nocturnal animals, terrestrial and burrowing, feeding chiefly on small mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, worms, roots, and berries. All the known species have a prevalent black colour, varied by white strips or spots on the upper part (Fig. 263). They generally carry the body, much arched, and the tail erect, the long loose hair of which waves like a plume over the back. There are three species, all inhabitants of the American continent, over which they have an extensive range.