THE RED-TAILED MUNGOOSE. 



251 



tail, while the colour may be either sandy, rufous, or dark 

 greyish- brown. Under-side of tarsus naked. Skull resembling 

 that of H. ichneumon in form. Length of head and body, varying 

 from about 11 to 14^ inches; of tail, from io;< to 12 inches. 



Distribution. — Africa, south of the Sahara. 



Varieties. — The typical variety, ranging from Cape Verd 

 across Abyssinia to Natal, is of large size, and has the 

 general colour of the fur dark brownish-grey, with or with- 

 out black annulations, the tips of the hairs often showing a 

 distinct ruddy tinge. In those specimens without black rings 

 on the hairs the black terminal portion of the tail is not so 

 sharply defined. 



In the West African variety, II. mclanurus, ranging from 

 Liberia to Sierra Leone and the Cameruns, the general colour 

 is dark rufous, with the hairs distinctly ringed with black, the 

 fur being short and crisp. 



The South African variety, II badius, extending from the 

 Cape to Zanzibar, is rather smaller, and distinguished by its 

 bright rufous colour, the hairs being sometimes ringed with 

 black, and the fur rather long and soft. 



In the still smaller variety, II. ocliraccus, typically from 

 Abyssinia, the colour is light sandy-yellow, the hairs in the 

 type specimen being ringed with black. This variety is re- 

 corded by Bocage, in the paper cited, from Angola. An allied 

 West Coast variety (H. flavescejis), from Benguela, according 

 to the same writer, has the fur of a brighter tint, with the hairs 

 on the head and root of the tail tipped with black. 



Another variety from Angola (If. punctulatusl = H. ruficauda) 

 is of a bright rufous tint, with the hairs tipped with black. 



V. THE RED-TAILED MUNGOOSE. HERPESTES SANGUINEUS. 



Herpcsles sanguineus, Riippell, Neue Wirbelthiere, p. 27 (1835) J 

 Thomas, Proa Zcol. Soc. 1882, p. 71, 



