THE ELEGANT MUNGOOSE. 279 



stripes down the upper-parts, of which the middle pair do not 

 extend so far back as the rest; head brown; limbs like ground- 

 colour of body ; tail whitish. Length of head and body, about 

 14 inches; of tail, 13 inches. 

 Distribution. — Madagascar. 



II. THE NARROW-STRIPED MUNGOOSE. GALIDICTIS VITTATA. 



Galidictis vittata, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1848, p. 21 ; Mivart, 

 Proc. Zool. Soc. 1882, p. 186. 



Characters. —General colour grizzled grey; the back and sides 

 with eight nearly equal-sized and rather narrow longitudinal 

 blackish-brown stripes ; chin and under-parts pale brown ; 

 hind-feet and outer surface of fore-legs reddish-brown ; tail 

 grizzled black and grey, becoming white towards and at the 

 tip ; the longer hairs brownish-white, with two, or occasionally 

 three, broad black rings. Size approximately as in the last. 



Distribution. — Madagascar. 



Nothing appears to have been recorded with regard to the 

 habits of either of the species of this genus. 



XXI. THE RING-TAILED MUNGOOSES. GENUS GALIDIA. 



Galidia, Geoffroy, Comptes Rendus, vol. v. p. 580 (1837). 



Distinguished from the preceding genus by the smaller size 

 of the lower canine tooth, and by the under surface of the 

 tarsus and metatarsus being more or less covered with short 

 sparse hairs. As regards coloration, the body is uniform, 

 while the tail is ringed. The skull is very similar to that of 

 Galidictis, but has the muzzle and palate relatively narrower, 

 and the hinder portion of the latter flat, instead of concave. 



I. ELEGANT MUNGOOSE. GALIDIA ELEGANS. 



Galidia elegans, Geoffroy, Comptes Rendus, vol. v. p. 580 

 (1837); Mivart, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1882, p. 18. 

 Characters. — Size small ; tail rather more than three-quarters 

 the length of head and body. General colour dark chestnut- 



