distinguished from each other. The ears are very minute. The tail is short. The muzzle is rather pointed, and the soles and palms are naked.
Fig. 222.—Ratel. Mellivora capensis. × ⅛.
The structure of Helictis has been described by the late Professor Garrod,[1] as well as by Sir W. Flower in his general account of the Carnivorous skeleton. The animal, which is a native of East Asia, is sometimes gaily coloured. H. subaurantiaca, the species dissected and figured by Garrod, is a varied black and orange. The genus is arboreal, and the tail may be moderately long and bushy. The ears are small; the nose is grooved; the palms are naked, but the soles of the feet are hairy. There are fourteen dorsal vertebrae. The molar formula is Pm 4/4 M 1/2.
The Zorilla, Ictonyx, is the last of the Old-World genera of Melinae. It is African, ranging from the tropical parts of the continent to the Cape. "In colour and markings," remarks Dr. Mivart, "as well as in the odour of the secretion of its anal glands, the one or two species which form this genus resemble the skunks; so much so that did they inhabit the same region, and were they devoid of an offensive secretion, they would certainly be said to mimic the skunks." The molar formula of the genus is Pm 3/3 M 1/2. There are fifteen dorsal vertebrae. The nose is grooved and the soles partly hairy.
The American Badger, Taxidea, is a burrower of omnivorous tastes, and correlated with the former habit are the immense
- ↑ Proc. Zool. Soc. 1879, p. 305.
