GYMNURA—CARNIVORA. 105 
have been found almost wholly white, with the black eye-streak and only 
a portion of the longer hairs black, so that much stress cannot be laid 
on the colouring; the tail is blackish at the base, whitish and com- 
pressed at the tip. Mr. Blanford says: ‘‘The small scales covering 
the tail are indistinctly arranged in rings and sub-imbricate; on the 
lower surface the scales are convex 
and distinctly imbricate, the bristles 
arising from the interstices. Thus 
the under surface of the tail is very 
rough, and may probably be of use 
to the animal in climbing.” He 
also refers to the fact that the claws 
of his specimen are not retractile, 
and mentions that in the original 
description both in Latin and English 
the retractability of the claws is Gymnura Raffiesti. 
pointed out as a distinction between 
Gymnura and Tupaia. In the description given of the Sumatran 
animal both by Dallas and Cuvier nothing is mentioned about this 
feature. 
SizE.—A Sumatran specimen: head and body, 14 inches; tail, 12 
inches. Mr. Blanford’s specimen: head and body, 12 inches; tail, 8°5. 
Mr. Blanford was informed by Mr. Davison, who obtained it in 
Burmah, that the Gymnura is purely nocturnal in its habits, and lives 
under the roots of trees. It has a peculiar and most offensive smell, 
resembiing decomposed cooked vegetables. The Bulau has not the 
power of rolling itself up like the hedgehog, nor have the similar forms 
of insectivores which resemble the hedgehog in some respects, such as 
the Tenrecs (Centetes), Tendracs (Ericulus),. and Sokinahs (faa of 
Madagascar. 
CARNIVORA. 
Speaking generally, the whole range of mammals between the Quadru- 
mana and the Rodentia are carnivorous with few exceptions, yet there 
is one family which, from its muscular development and dentition, is 
pre-eminently flesh-eating, as Cuvier aptly remarks, “the sanguinary 
appetite is combined with the force necessary for its gratification.” 
Their forms are agile and muscular; their circulation and respiration 
rapid. As Professor Kitchen Parker graphically writes: “This group, 
which comprises all the great beasts of | prey, is one of the most compact 
as well as the most interesting among the mammalia. So many of the 
animals contained in it have become ‘ familiar in our mouths as house- 
