mustela

noun

1. Any of the carnivorous mammals of the genus Mustela.

   “Almost all of the mustelas have a power of secreting and discharging a most fetid and intolerable stench at their will; and many of them do it as a mean of defence: and often so effectually that the very beast that pursues them is compelled to relinquish the chace, so completely is he overpowered by its noisome vapour.”

   “Skull.—The skull of the Felis yaguarundi, in general shape, exhibits a close relationship to that of F. eyra, and, like it, much narrower and elongated than in the Felida concolor or pardalis; calling to mind the mustelas as much as the cats.”

   “Among the carnivores researched, the brain of bear seems to be the most highly differentiated as can be confirmed in the comparative anatomical features of the thalamus and hypothalamus (ITÔ, 1952; KOIKEGAMI, 1947), and that of the mustela is regarded as minimally developed, contrary to the opinion of JESERICH (1945).”