THE MUNGOOSES. 245 
is spread over it, and in the adult becomes merged in its 
hinder surface. In the l’rverrine, on the other hand, the same 
process generally projects somewhat beyond the auditory bulla, 
from which it remains markedly distinct. Instead of being 
curved and more or less retractile, the claws of the Herpestine 
are long, exserted, and quite incapable of retraction. The 
glands so generally present in front of the scrotum of the 
males of the Viverrina, are invariably absent in the group under 
consideration. It includes several genera, and may be con- 
sidered mainly characteristic of Africa and Madagascar, since 
only the typical genus extends into the Oriental region, and 
even that has more Ethiopian than Asiatic representatives. 
As a genus, Herpestes is specially characterised by having five 
toes to each foot, by the presence of a vertical groove on the 
nose, and usually of four pairs of pre-molar teeth in each jaw,* 
the number of molars being, as usual, two. Concerning other 
features, it may be noted that the muzzle is sharply pointed, 
_the body long and slender, the legs short, and the ears short 
and rounded. Asa rule, the tail is long and tapering, with its 
investing hair elongated. In the plantigrade feet, the extent to 
which the sole in the hind pair is naked varics to a con- 
siderable extent with the species, the bare portion extending 
in some instances as far back as the heel, while in others the 
tarsus is invested inferiorly with hair. The fur is coarse, and 
has a peculiar specked or ‘‘pepper-and-salt ” appearance, due 
to the circumstance that the longer hairs are marked with 
alternating light and dark rings ; in no case is the tail ringed. 
All the cheek-teeth have very sharp cusps, and are thus 
strikingly unlike those of the Palm-Civets, in which the cusps 
are more or less blunted. The skull is remarkable for the 
distinct contraction behind the orbits, and likewise for the fact 
* If but three are present in either jaw, there is a gap between the first 
of the series and the canine, 
