SPECIES OF MAMMALS OF THE PACIFIC AREA 93 



broken up into spots. This animal is about forty-five inches 

 long, the tail being a little more than half this length. It has 

 arboreal habits, and being chiefly nocturnal, it is seldom seen. 

 The range of the small-toothed palm civet extends from Assam 

 and Burma to Java and Borneo. 



The Banded Palm Civet (Hemigalus derby anus) has a char- 

 acteristic color pattern. The dorsal ground color is dark buff. 

 From the crown to the shoulders are two longitudinal dark 

 bands, replaced on the shoulders by transverse bands. Across 

 the back between the root of the tail and the shoulders are 

 five additional broad transverse bands. The underparts are 

 paler and unhanded. The head and body length is about twenty 

 inches and the tail fifteen inches. The banded palm civet is found 

 from Tenasserim to Sumatra, South Pagi Island, Sipora Island, 

 and Borneo. It appears nowhere to be a common animal, and 

 very little is known of its habits. 



Hose's Palm Civet {Hemigalus hosei) is a relative of the 

 banded palm civet with which it compares in size. It lacks the 

 dark striping. This animal is uniform dark smoky brown with 

 white spots on each side of the muzzle, over each eye, and on 

 the ears and chin. It is found only in Borneo. 



The Otter Civet {Cynogale hennettii) externally suggests a 

 short-tailed otter. The thick coat is dark brown, with the tips 

 of many of the hairs gray. The total length is about thirty 

 inches, the tail being about six inches. This rare animal is 

 adapted for aquatic life and is an expert fisherman. It is found 

 in the Malay States, Sumatra, and Borneo. 



The mongooses may be distinguished from the civets by their 

 longer, straighter claws, which cannot be retracted, and by lack 

 of scent glands. They are long-bodied, weasel-like animals with 

 bushy tails. They are chiefly terrestrial. 



The Short-tailed Mongoose (Herpestes hrachyurus), which 

 lives in the Malay States, Sumatra, and Borneo, is the largest 

 and darkest of the East Indian mongooses. Its color is dark 



