262 LLOYD'S NATURAL HISTORY. 



a paler or more rufous area. Limbs uniformly dark brown or 

 black, and tail with a long black tip. Fur brown at the base ; 

 the longer hairs with three or four rings of pale yellowish-grey, 

 alternating with the same number of black ones, or merely one 

 or two rings of each colour near the base, and the remainder 

 of the hairs ferruginous. Length of head and body, 2 1 inches ; 

 of tail, with hair, 15 inches, without hair, 13 inches. 



Distribution. — Southern India, Malabar Coast, and Ceylon. 



XVIII. THE PALE-NECKED MUNGOOSE. HERPESTES SEMI- 



TORQUATUS. 



Herpestes semitorquatus, Gray, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. xviii. 

 p. 211 (1846); Anderson, Zool. Anat. Research. Exped 

 Yun-nan, p. 191 (1878). 



Characters. — Specially distinguished by the pale area on the 

 neck, and the orange-brown tinge of the fur. 



Size rather large ; tail about two-thirds the length of the 

 head and body ; tarsus hairy beneath the heel. General colour 

 rich orange-brown, becoming more brightly rufous on the 

 sides of the body, finely speckled with yellow on the back 

 and upper portion of the sides ; lower half of the side of 

 the neck, from the muzzle backwards, rufous-yellow, without 

 speckling, this area standing out in marked contrast to the 

 speckled dark brown of the upper part of the neck ; fore-legs 

 and lower half of hind-legs dark purplish-brown ; upper sur- 

 face of head less rufous than back ; under-parls rich ferru- 

 ginous-browm, like the sides ; tail uniformly coloured, much 

 grizzled, owing to the long pale yellow tips of the hairs. 

 Under-fur pale yellowish-brown at the base, and orange-yellow 

 towards the tips ; the longer hairs on the sides of the body 

 rich orange-red, below which there is an indistinct brown 

 band, while the basal portion is pale brown or yellow. On 

 the back the hairs terminate in a short brown tip, preceded 



