the tympanic are divided by an
internal partition. The paroccipital process is separate from, or only
extends to a slight degree upon the auditory bulla. The thoracic
vertebrae number 13; the feet are digitigrade, with five front and
four hind toes, of which the claws are retractile; and the metatarsus
is haired all round. Anal glands are present.

As regards the teeth, when considered in more detail, the incisors are
small, and the canines large, strong, slightly recurved, with
trenchant edges and sharp points, and placed wide apart. The premolars
are compressed and sharp-pointed; the most posterior in the upper jaw
(the sectorial) being a large tooth, consisting of a compressed blade,
divided into three unequal cusps supported by two roots, with a small
inner lobe placed near the front and supported by a distinct root
(fig. 1, I). The upper molar is a small tubercular tooth placed more
or less transversely at the inner side of the hinder end of the last.
In the lower jaw the molar (sectorial) is reduced to the blade, which
is large, trenchant, compressed and divided into two subequal lobes
(fig. 2, I). Occasionally it has a rudimentary heel, but never an
inner tubercle. The skull generally is short and rounded, though
proportionally more elongated in the larger forms; with the facial
portion short and broad, and the zygomatic arches wide and strong. The
auditory bullae are large, rounded and smooth. Vertebrae: C. 7, D. 13,
L. 7, S. 3, Ca. 13-29. Clavicles better developed than in other
Carnivora, but not articulating with either the shoulder-bones or
sternum. Of the five front toes, the third and fourth are nearly equal
and longest, the second slightly, and the fifth considerably shorter.
The first is still shorter, not reaching the metacarpophalangeal
articulation of the second. In the hind-feet the third and fourth toes
are the longest, the second and fifth somewhat shorter and nearly
equal, while the first is represented only by the rudimentary
metatarsal bone. The claws are large, strongly curved, compressed,
very sharp, and exhibit the retractile condition in the highest
degree. The tail varies greatly in length, being in some species a
mere stump, in others nearly as long as the body. The ears are of
moderate size, more or less triangular and pointed; and the eyes
rather large, with the iris mobile, and with a pupillary aperture
which contra