HERPESTES. 



463 



FIG. LXI. HERPESTES MUNGO. MONGOOSE. 



Measurements. Total length, 737-890; tail, 356-380. Skull: 

 basal length, 75; zygomatic width, 42. The size of both animals 

 and skulls varies, however, considerably, and the female is usually 

 the smaller. 



The family CANID/E contains various animals, such as Dogs, 

 Wolves, Foxes, Jackals, etc., which have a great uniformity of struc- 

 ture and similar habits. It is a cosmopolitan group, and its members 

 are sociable, fond of each other's society, and some of the species 

 usually hunt in packs, and are possessed of more intelligence than 

 falls to the lot of most quadrupeds. A great number of species and 

 many varieties are recognized, some of them very unsatisfactorily 

 defined. The group is divided into two series, the Lupine and the 

 Vulpine, the former containing the wild and domestic Dogs, Wolves, 

 and Jackals, the latter the true Foxes and their allies. These are 

 distributed over many lands, and their coats, like those of the cats, 

 vary in length of hair and thickness of fur according as the climate is 

 productive of excessive degrees of heat or cold. As a general rule, 

 the animals of northern habitats are larger and more powerful than 

 their brethren of southern latitudes, but their habits are the same. 



