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. [Illustration: FIG. 91.—_Solenodon cubanus._—By permission of the N.Y. Zoölog. Soc.] [Illustration: FIG. 92.—Argentine Skunk (_Conepatus gibsoni_).—By permission of W. S. Berridge, London.] [Illustration: 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. [Illustration: FIG. 94.—Tayra (_Tayra tayra_).—By permission of W. S. Berridge, London.] [Illustration: FIG. 95.—Kinkajou (_Potos caudivolvulus_), Central America.—By permission of W. S. Berridge, London.] [Illustration: FIG. 96.—Ocelot (_Felis pardalis_).—By permission of the N.Y. Zoölog. Soc.] [Illustration: FIG. 97.—Jaguar (_Felis onca_).—By permission of the N.Y. Zoölog. Soc.]