In the Indo-Malay ferret-badger, _Helictis_, the dentition is i. 3/3, c. 1/1, p. 4/4, m. 1/2; total 38. Upper sectorial with a large bicusped inner lobe, molar smaller, wider transversely than in the antero-posterior direction. Lower sectorial with heel about one-third the length of the tooth. Skull elongated, rather narrow and depressed; facial portion especially narrow; infraorbital foramen very large. Head rather small and produced in front, with an elongated, obliquely truncated, naked snout and small ears. Body elongated, limbs short. Tail short or moderate, bushy. Several species are described, such as _H. orientalis, moschata, nipalensis_, and _subaurantiaca_, from eastern Asia, all small animals, climbing trees with agility and living on fruits and berries as well as on small mammals and birds.
The African striped zorilles, or _Muis-honds_ (_Ictonyx_), have a dental formula of i. 3/3, c. 1/1, p. 3/3, m. 1/2; total 34; the teeth much resembling those of the polecats, and the upper molar being smaller than the sectorial, and narrow from before backwards. Lower sectorial with a smalt narrow heel and distinct inner tubercle. General form of body musteline. Limbs short, fore-feet large and broad, with five stout, nearly straight, blunt and non-retractile claws, of which the first and fifth are considerably shorter than the others. Tail moderate, with longer hairs towards the end, giving it a bushy appearance. Hair generally long and loose. The best-known species of this genus, the Cape polecat, _Ictonyx capensis_ (or _Zorilla zorilla_), is about the size of a polecat, but conspicuous by its broad, longitudinal bands of dark-brown, alternating with white. Its odour is said to be as offensive as that of the American skunks. From the Cape of Good Hope it ranges as far north as Senegal. Another species, _I. lybicus_, from Sennaar, has been described. The small striped polecat of southern Africa, _Poecilogale albinucha_, represents a genus by itself, and is a shorter-haired animal.
The skunks of America are very similar to the two genera last mentioned in their colouring, and with the latter serve to form a connecting link with the more typical _Mustelinae_, and the badger group, or _Melinae_, in which the feet are elongated, with straight toes and non-retractile, slightly curved, subcompressed, blunt claws, especially large on the fore-foot. In all cases the upper molar is larger than the sectorial, and in the more typical genera is much longer than broad.