claws of the fore-paws. It is North American, but gets into Mexico. The molar formula is as in the American genera Mephitis and Conepatus, and as in the Old-World Ictonyx, and it thus differs from that of Meles. Besides the great size of the claws upon the hand, which are larger relatively than those of any other Carnivore, the genus Taxidea is to be distinguished from all Arctoids (indeed, from all Carnivora) except Mydaus, by the fact that the pelvic limb is of the same length as the pectoral. The muzzle is furry except at the very extremity; this is grooved. The animal is carnivorous, subsisting upon the following very varied kinds of food—"Spermophiles, Arvicolas, birds' eggs, and snails, also honey-comb, wax, and bees."
The Skunk, Mephitis, is an American animal with several species, which range from North to Central America. The black-and-white colour distinguishes the genus, which is furthermore marked by the fact that the third digit of the hand is relatively longer than in any other Carnivore except Taxidea. The soles are partly hairy. It is a terrestrial fossorial animal with well-known powers of protecting itself from aggression. But nevertheless the Skunk has its enemies, and is not quite so unmolested as is sometimes popularly supposed. The Puma, Harpy Eagle, and the Great Horned Owl will at least occasionally attack and devour it. The molar formula is Pm 3/3 M 1/2. There are sixteen dorsal vertebrae.
Conepatus is a more southern form of Skunk, extending down into South America. Its dentition is like that of Mephitis save for the loss of an upper premolar. This genus, which has been further subdivided, differs from Mephitis in the fact that the soles of the feet are wholly naked, whereas in Mephitis those of the hind-limbs are partially hairy. It has no groove on the nose. Its tail is shorter than that of Mephitis. This Skunk has the same habits as the last. In certain parts of South America the animals are so abundant and their odour so powerful that in the evening there is generally a recognisable smell about. This is said to be good for the headache!
Sub-Fam. 3. Lutrinae.—Of this sub-family there are at least two genera. Enhydris (Latax),[[298]] the Sea-Otter, is confined to the shores of the North Pacific. It is more purely aquatic than are
other Otters. Specimens have been seen swimming fifteen miles from land. The gait of the creature when on land is suggestive of a marine animal; the webbed hind-feet are doubled back upon the knuckles during progression upon land, and locomotion is effected by a series of short springs from these feet; the Otter does not walk "in ordinary acceptance of the term." The tail is flattened, being twice as broad as it is thick, and ends in a bluntish point. Enhydris feeds mainly upon crabs and sea-urchins, but also upon fish. Its dental formula is peculiar by reason chiefly of the reduction of the lower incisors. The formula runs as follows: I 3/2 C 1/1 Pm 3/3 M 1/2.
The molar teeth of this creature, in accordance with its diet, have lost the sharp points of the Mustelidae in general; the crowns are flattened, and the tubercles very blunt. In this it contrasts with Lutra, and presents some resemblance to the Crab-eating Raccoon, Procyon cancrivorus; but the teeth are still further blunted. Enhydris feeds largely upon sea-urchins and shell-fish, and needs blunt teeth for the crushing of the hard shells of its prey. It is interesting to notice that the habits of this animal have been altered by the interference of man. The creature has been hotly pursued for a long time on account of its valuable fur. Instead of feeding and breeding upon the shore in places readily accessible to its pursuers, the Sea-Otter has now taken to the open sea in a greater degree. It utilises masses of floating seaweed for those purposes, and hunts for its food in the deeper water at a greater distance from the shore. In conjunction with the increasing rarity of the Sea-Otter the price of its skin has enormously increased: whereas in 1888 the average price per skin was £21:10s., the value of a fine skin now is at least £100, and as much as £200 and even £250 has been given. The animal is captured by netting and by clubbing and spearing.[[299]] From the Miocene Siwalik beds remains of an allied form, Enhydridon, have been obtained, whose teeth are somewhat intermediate in their crowns between Lutra and Enhydris.
Lutra, including the Otters, is widely distributed. Both manus and pes are webbed. The ears are small and hairy. The nose is not grooved, and the naked part is very circumscribed;
the claws upon the hind-feet are flattened and somewhat nail-like. There are about ten species, but of course, as is so universally the case, a great many more names have been given. The molar formula is like that of Enhydris save that there is an extra premolar in the upper jaw. There are fourteen pairs of ribs, of which eleven pairs reach the ten-jointed sternum. The caudals are twenty-three. The Cape Otter, the "clawless" Otter, has been separated as a genus Aonyx. So too has the South American Pteronura brasiliensis. But in neither case is the separation allowed by Mr. Thomas in a recent revision of the genus.[[300]] The latter species has the reputation of being very fierce, and is known in Uruguay by the name of "Lobo de pecho blanco." The British species, L. vulgaris, reaches a length of 2 feet or so, with a tail of 16 inches; it ranges over the whole of Europe and a large portion of Asia. This Otter often burrows in the banks of the streams which it frequents; and in the burrow in March or April the female brings forth her young, three to five in number. It will also frequent the sea-coast.
Fig. 223.—Otter. Lutra vulgaris. × 1⁄6.