Descriptions of East Asiatic Mammals 183 
beneath each ear, the lips, and the tip of the tail are whitish. 
The head is flat and elongate, the muzzle low, broad, and otter- 
like. The whiskers are well developed ; the toes slightly webbed. 
The length of the head and body is from 24 to 32 inches, of 
the tail from 5 to 9% inches, of the hind foot 3% to 4*4 inches. 
A civet-like smell is given off. The food seems to be composed 
mainly of meat and 
fish. " 
Lowe's Otter 
Civet, Cynogalc 
lowci, is easily dis- 
tinguished from C. 
bennettii by its 
white underparts set 
off from the dark 
brown upper color 
by a distinct line of demarcation that runs forward beneath the 
ear and eye to the nostril, leaving the upper lip and cheek white. 
This species is known as yet from a single young specimen 
taken in Tonkin at 500 feet above sea-level. 
Fig. 44. Head of Lowe's Otter Civet, Cyno- 
gale lowci. Diagrammatic : after Pocock. 
THE MONGOOSES (FAMILY HERPESTID^) 
Formerly classed with the family Viverridse, the Mongooses 
are now believed to be a separate offshoot of the extinct Miacid 
Creodont stem, from which all the aeluroid carnivores orig- 
inated. They are characterized by long, slender, weasel-like 
bodies and moderately long tails. They have long tapered 
snouts, small low ears, feet with freely mobile digits, and 
slightly curved, non-retractile claws more or less suited for dig- 
ging. There are no scent glands. The anus opens into a naked, 
glandular pouch that can be folded over it. The Mongooses are 
chiefly Asiatic and African. One species lives in Spain. In Asia 
only the one large genus Herpestes is found. 
