Descriptions of East Asiatic Mammals 185 
the body. To the first belong the Indian Mongoose, H. edwardsii, 
a. long-tailed species, and some other Indian species; to the 
second, the Javan Mongoose and its allies. 
The Indian Mongoose, Herpestes edwardsii, is a medium- 
sized species that includes several races, chiefly Indian. The 
color typically is iron-gray, owing to black and white banding of 
the individual body hairs, but may be reddish. The tail is colored 
like the body except at the tip, which may be either whitish 
or reddish but never blackish. The legs, darker than the body, 
are blackish brown to reddish brown. Only one of the races, 
H. e. nyula, reaches Assam from the west. The length of the 
head and body in this race is from M 1 /^ to 17% inches, tail 13 
to 16 inches, hind foot from 2% to 4 inches. Chasen records the 
typical Indian Mongoose as introduced into the Malay Penin- 
sula. 
The Javan Mongoose, Herpestes javanicus, though found 
originally in Java, ranges northward through the Malay Penin- 
sula, east to Indo-China and west to Persia. The pelage is 
grizzled gray, with a frequent tendency to reddish, especially 
on the head. The tail is proportionately short and the legs are 
not darker than the body. There are a number of races partly 
distinguished by differences in size. The form H. j. perakensis 
occurs in the lower Malay Peninsula ; H. j. peninsula in penin- 
sular Siam ; H. j. birmannicus in Burma and Assam ; H. j. exilis 
in eastern Siam and Annam; H. j. rubrifrons in Hainan, 
Fukien, and Kiangsu. 
The measurements of the head and body, tail, and hind foot 
for H. j. birmannicus are respectively 13 to 15 inches, 10 to 
11% inches, and 2% to 2% inches. The size of the Hainan or 
Rufous-faced race is somewhat less, but that of the Annamese 
Mongoose is greater. The equivalent dimensions in H. j. 
peninsula are 15, 11, and 2% inches. The true Javan race is 
still larger. 
Flower writes that a captive specimen from Siam killed snakes 
