Fig. 90.—Spectacled Bear (Tremarctos ornatus).—By permission of the N.Y. Zoölog. Soc.
There are two families of monkeys in the forested areas of South America, both very different from those of the Old World. One of these families, the marmosets (Hapalidæ), differs from all other monkeys in several particulars, most obvious of which are the long claws on the feet and the non-opposable thumb. The second family (Cebidæ) comprises forms which are superficially much more like those of the eastern hemisphere, but many of them have prehensile tails, which are used as efficient grasping organs.
Insectivora are entirely absent from the South American continent, but some shrews (Blarina) have entered Central America from the north and a very curious genus is represented by one species in Cuba (Solenodon cubanus) and another in Hayti (S. paradoxus). These remarkable animals are, strange to relate, most nearly allied to the tenrecs (Centetes) of Madagascar and by some authorities are placed in the same family.
Fig. 91.—Solenodon cubanus.—By permission of the N.Y. Zoölog. Soc.
Fig. 92.—Argentine Skunk (Conepatus gibsoni).—By permission of W. S. Berridge, London.
Fig. 93.—Little Skunk (Spilogale putorius).—By permission of W. S. Berridge, London.
The Carnivora are quite numerous and varied and rather peculiar, but they all belong to northern families and are the more or less modified descendants of northern immigrants. The dogs (Canidæ) belong to genera not represented elsewhere and form a considerable assemblage of interesting types. There are no true wolves or foxes, but several species of fox-like wolves (Cerdocyon), with bushy tails, are common, especially in the plains regions. The Bush-Dog (Icticyon venaticus), a small, short-legged animal, is very peculiar. The musteline or weasel family (Mustelidæ) is rather scantily represented. There are no badgers and but few skunks (Spilogale and Conepatus); weasels are absent, but their place is taken by the Grison (Galera vittata) and Tayra (Tayra tayra) and in the far south Lyncodon patagonicus. These animals are peculiar in having a lighter colouration on the back than on the belly. There are two or three species of otter (Lutra). The raccoons (Procyon) have a very wide range in South America, as in the northern continent, and the curious, long-snouted coatis (Nasua), which just enter the Sonoran region, are typically Neotropical. The Spectacled Bear (Tremarctos ornatus) is the only member of the family that occurs in South America and is confined to the highlands of Peru and Chili. The cat family is quite numerously represented; the Jaguar (Felis onca), which ranges from Texas to Patagonia, is a large spotted cat, rivalling the Leopard in size and ferocity; the Ocelot (F. pardalis, Arkansas to Paraguay) is smaller and streaked and blotched rather than spotted. The pumas differ little from those of North America, and there are many small cats, spotted, clouded and of solid colour, but no lynxes, which are essentially northern types.