252 Lloyd's natural history. 



Characters. — Size and form much as in the last ; fur short and 

 somewhat harsh. General colour very pale fawn ; the hairs 

 ringed with brown and yellowish-white, the latter colour pre- 

 dominating, and the arrangement producing the appearance of 

 cross-bands on the hinder part of the back. Tail with longer 

 hairs, ringed with black and white, although the black is very 

 inconspicuous ; its tip yellowish-red, and sharply differentiated 

 from the remainder. Feet nearly white. Teeth generally 

 similar to those of H. ichneumon. Length of head and body, 

 about 12 inches ; of tail, either rather more-or rather less. 



Distribution. — Kordofan. 



Habits. — Mr. Thomas writes that " this species, hitherto only 

 found in Kordofan, is evidently a desert form, having the sandy 

 coloration usually occurring in animals inhabiting sandy plains. 

 Dr. Riippell seems to have found it numerous, as he brought 

 home five or six specimens. He states that it lives in holes in 

 the ground, among bushes, and that, though fierce when wild, it 

 is yet easily tameable. Baron von Heuglin also found it, though 

 not commonly, in the same region." 



vi. Neumann's mungoose. herpestes neumanni. 

 Herpestes ?ieumanni, Matschie, S.B. Nat. Fr. Berlin, 1894, p. 121. 



Characters. — A small form allied to the two preceding, and 

 closely resembling H. gracilis var. ochraceus in general colora- 

 tion, but distinguished by the absence of annulations on the 

 hairs, and the chestnut-brown colour of the tail-tip. General 

 colour ochre-yellow ; the hairs of the middle line of the back 

 with small chestnut-brown tips, giving a reddish-brown speck- 

 ling to the pelage ; the hairs in the last third of the tail darker; 

 feet coloured like the sides and tail. 



Distribution.— East Africa (N. Ugogo). 



In admitting this form to the rank of a species, it should be 

 noticed that its describer regards the varieties of H. gracilis 

 and H. albicauda as distinct species, 



