6(5 DESULTORY SKETCHES IN NATURAL HISTORY. 



The Marbled Lycaon, 



(L. marmoratus, Nobis ; Canis pictus, Ruppell ; not Hysena picia 

 of Temminck, which refers to the other). 



Inhabits Abyssinia, where it sometimes attacks man, and is much 

 feared by the natives. Individuals, observes Dr. Ruppell, often 

 crouch and lie in wait for small Mammalia. It is a very handsome 

 animal, distinguished by its white ground-colour. 



Length, to the tail, three feet and a half; the tail, sixteen 

 inches : height at the shoulders above two feet, the croup lower. 

 General colour, greyish- white ; the chin black, which colour ex- 

 tends backwards on the sides of the neck, forming a streak which 

 is said to be of constant occurrence ; some large irregular patches of 

 chestnut-brown, bordered with black, are variously disposed upon 

 the body and limbs ; and the terminal greater portion of the tail is 

 white, surmounted by a narrow black ring, above which the colour 

 is rufous. In both this and the following species, the terminal two- 

 thirds of the tail are stated to be white invariably ; but in a speci- 

 men of the ordinary Cape Lycaon, preserved in the museum of the 

 Zoological Society, there is no white on the tail, which, however, 

 is very unusual. 



The Tortoiseshell Lycaon, 



fL. pictus:* Hycena picta, Temm. ; H, vewa/ec«, Burchell ; Ly- 

 caon tricolor J Brookes ; Canis lycaon, Fischer), 



Or Wilde Houd of the Cape colonists, is smaller, with a chestnut 

 ground-colour : measuring about two feet high and three in length, 

 exclusive of the tail. Its ground-colour is sandy-bay or ochreous- 

 yellow, shaded with darker hairs; and irregularly blotched and 

 brindled with black, mingled in various parts with patches of white. 

 The legs are marked in the same manner, and tail similar to that of 

 the other, forming a moderate sized and handsome brush in both 

 species. The female is rather smaller and less brightly coloured, 

 with generally fewer markings. Young seemingly undescribed. 



• Dr. Smith has applied the specific appellation pictus^ which belongs to 

 this species, to the other in his African Zoology^ calling the present one Ly- 

 caon typicus. 



