178 Records of the Indian Museum. [Vol. XIX , 



Dharwar, South Mahratta country, resembles in colour one from 

 Calcutta. All the skulls, however, differ from the Calcutta 

 examples in their small size and much smaller bullae which are 

 both shorter, lower and more compressed than in the northern 

 form: greatest lengths :-Chilka, 94-95 ; Dharwar, 95 mm. against 

 Calcutta, 104-105 mm. (one subadult example 103 mm.). 



For the present we regard Chilka and Dharwar animals as re- 

 presentative of Viverricula malaccensis indica (Desmarest, Nouv. 

 Did. d'Eist. Nat.,Yll, 1817, p. 170). 



We have not seen Viverricula malaccensis deserti, Bonhote 

 {Ami. and Mag. Nat. Hist. (7), I, 1898, p. 120) from Rajputana 

 which is probably well entitled to subspecific rank. 



A specimen from Cachar is impossible to identify subspecific- 

 ally : it is boldly marked but the number of rings on the tail ally 

 it to eastern rather than to Indian forms. 



Kloss has recently described from South Central Siam as 

 Viverricula malaccensis thai {Journ. Nat. Hist. Soc. Siam HI, 191 9, 

 p. 352) a subspecies rather paler and duller than V. m. malac- 

 censis and with skull characters approximating towards V. m. 

 rasse (Horsfield) of Java. This probably extends into Southern 

 Burma. 



Genus Paradoxurus F. Cuv. 



Dr. Annandale has submitted to us photographs of Buchanan- 

 Hamilton's original paintings of Ichneumen prehensilis and Ichneu- 

 men bandar which formed the basis for the descriptions of Des- 

 marest's Viverra prehensilis and Viverra bandar (Mammalogie, 

 1820, pp. 207, 210 ). 



We have received specimens from the vicinity of Calcutta 

 which quite agree with Buchanan-Hamilton's figures and with the 

 descriptions based on them by Desmarest. 



Viverra prehensilis is the first name applied to any Indian Par- 

 adoxurus and the Bengal form would bear the name P. hermaphro- 

 ditus prehensilis were it not that Desmarest's name is preoccupied 

 by Viverra prehensilis, Kerr {Animal Kingdom, 1792, p. 169 — 

 Cercoleptes caudivolvulus , the Kinkajou, fide Blanford, P.Z.S. 

 1885, p. 784), The name, therefore, of the Bengal subspecies 

 must be Paradoxurus hermaphraditus bandar (Desm.) to the figure 

 of which many Calcutta specimens closely approximate. So, 

 indeed, do others to the figure of Viverra prehensilis: but all 

 races of Paradoxurus show a good deal of variation within them- 

 selves due principally to age and we are not prepared to admit, 

 on the existing material, the occurrence of two forms or species in 

 Bengal. 



In addition we have a specimen from Dharwar obtained by 

 the Mammal Survey of the Bombay Natural History Society which 

 has been listed by Wroughton as Paradoxurus niger {Viverra nigra 

 Desmarest, op. cit. p. 208, Pondicherry) and which, allowing for 

 certain individual abnormalities, agrees with Desmarest's des- 

 cription. 



