64 



appearance : this incltides the genera Herpestes and Ryzccna, and 

 probably also Crossarctuis and Atilax ; but as Mr. Gray had not seen 

 the two latter, he could not speak confidently with respect to them, 

 Crossnrchus and Ryzcena diiFer in having one falše molar tooth less 

 than the other genera. The remaining subdivision has the toes short, 

 and united by a membrane as far as the base of the claws ; it has no 

 anai pouch, but in place of that organ a bald secreting fold over the 

 sheath of the penis ; and its fur is rather rigid with a woolly under- 

 coat. In most cases the tail has the faculty of rolling itself up spirally 

 from the tip, from \vhich circumstance M. F. Cuvier deduced the ge- 

 neric name of Paradoxurus applied by him to the animals of this sub- 

 division. One species, the Benturong of Major Farąuhar, has since 

 been separated bv M. Valenciennes under the generic name of Ictides. 



Ali the animals of this subdivision vvhich Mr. Gray has seen Hving, 

 agree in having a very narrow linear pevpendicular pupil, but this 

 character he considered as only of secondary importance ; the Foxes 

 having linear, vvhile all the other Dogs have round pupils, and the 

 common Cat, and some others of the genus Felis, having them perpen- 

 dicular, vvhile the Lion, Tiger, Leopard, Jaguar, Puma, and hunting 

 Leopard, have them circular. The naked space extending the vvhole 

 lengthof the/r«nM?n of the penis from the ani/sto the tipof the sheath, 

 and secreting a brown odorous substance, appears to have been first 

 noticed by Palias in his description of the Fiv. hermaphrodita, to which, 

 by a not unapt comparison, it gavę a name. It appears to have been 

 entirely overlooked by M. F. Cuvier, but is readily seen even in the 

 dried .skin, and most probably exists in the genus Ictides also. In this 

 latter, according to Major Farquhar, the tail is truly prehensile, and 

 is used by the animal in climbing trees, but, likę that of the Kinka- 

 jou, it has no bald portion near the tip. The degree indeed in vvhich 

 the convolutive peculiarity of this organ manifests itself, appears to 

 vary greatly in the different species. When not tvvisted up, the tail is 

 generally trailed along the ground with a slight turning over at the 

 tip, vvhich occasions the hair, especially on the older .opecimens, to be 

 more or less worn avvay on either surface. 



The teeth of the genus Paradoxurus agree in number and struc- 

 ture with those of Viverra, Genetta, and Herpestes, but differ in the 

 form of the cheek-tooth and tubercular molars, which in both javvs 

 are shorter, broader and more bluntly tubercular, indicating more 

 frugivorous habits. In their examination, not only in this genus but 

 in the vvhole order, it is necessary to observe the change that takes 

 place both in their distribution and form on the shedding of the milk- 

 teeth, vvhich are widely different from those by vvhich they are suc- 

 ceeded. In the young of Paradoxurus there are in the upper jaw 

 only four molars on each side, viz. tvvo falše molars, one cheek-tooth, 

 and one tubercular ; vvhile the adult animal has one additional falše 

 molar, and a second tubercular, the third falše molar taking the place 

 of the cheek-tooth, and the cheek-tooth that occupied by the tuber- 

 cular, of the young animal. The teeth of the adult are also much 

 stronger and larger, the anterior ones becoming less, and the poste- 



