Notogale gen. nov.

Fig. 142. Upper
molars 2 to 4—
natural size.

This genus is proposed for the species designated ?Pharsophorus mitis by Ameghino (should probably include ?Pharsophorus tenuis which however never having been figured and not found in our collection I cannot definitely place). While the upper teeth have the same general character as Pharsophorus, they are much more compressed and trenchant. Upper molar 2 is similar to that of Pharasophorus in having the protocone reduced, and the metacone represented by a long sloping ridge. The last molar is also similar in having the antero-external style, the developed paracone, but the protocone is much less developed, appearing only as a ridge. In the lower teeth, however, there is a marked difference, in that the metaconid is lacking on molars, while the talonid is developed into a small basin with a single cusp on the posterior margin. This genus seems to be closest to the Santa Cruz genus Cladosictis.

Notogale mitis Ameghino

? Pharsophorus mitis, 1897, Bol. Inst. Geog. Argen., t. 18, p. 504.

Ameghino briefly describes, without a figure, a species in which premolar 4 and molar 3 together measure 14 mm. I have assigned to this two specimens, the one with pm. 2 incomplete, pm. 3 complete, and m. 2 also complete. These teeth measure the same as Ameghino’s and I think are the same. There is also a fragment of the upper jaw with molars 2 and 3, though imperfect. From these it appears that we have to do with an animal not only smaller than the preceding, but on much slenderer lines. The following are the measurements of the two specimens.

Specimen 3117
Upper dentition,molar 2,length 8 mm., width6 mm.
Upper dentition,molar 3,length2 mm., width6 mm.
Specimen 3060
Lower dentition,premolar 3,length 6 mm., width 2.5 mm.
Lower dentition,molar 2,length7 mm., width4   mm.