-\;8 CARXIVOKA. 



Ill It possossini:: five toes on the front and four on the hinder legrs. and the 

 soles of the feet are partly covered with hair. The body is slender, the 

 ear short and round, the hair long on the sides of the tail. 



The MEERK.xr. (>///<//> /,<-:•<////<;/////. attains a leno:th of two feet and a 

 half; its fur is smooth, its tail bushy ; its color is reddish, whence it is 

 called sometimes the Ruddv Ichneumon : the tail is sprinkled with silver- 

 gray and has a white tip ; long black hairs project over the eyes and on 

 the lips. 



It is found from the Cape of Good Hope northward in tlie lowlands 

 and pb.ms of South Africa, living on mice, birds, and insects : it is savage, 

 cunning, and agile. 



Its specific title has been given it in compliment to the well-known 

 African traveler Le VaiLlant. 



The following genera belong to Gray's third sub-family, the Rhino- 

 g^ids : 



GENUS SURICATA. 



This remarkable genus resembles the Herpestes in the color and 

 markings of its fur. but it is distinguished from them and all the Car- 

 nivora hitherto mentioned bv possessing onlv four toes on each foot, and 

 these are covered witli a fine skin like the human hand. The odoriferous 

 glands are not developed into a pouch witli separate external apertures. 

 Onlv <>«<■ species is known. 



The Zenick. Sun'ttUa sintV^ (P\Mc XII\ is of a dull-brown color, 

 crossed transversel}' b}- slight bands : the tail is brown, and the length 

 of the body from the tail to the muzzle is about a foot. It moves quickly 

 with the bodv arched, not low like the Mangoustes ; it is plantigi-adc. and 

 can stand up on its hind-legs and carry food to its mouth with its fore- 

 paws. The Zenick is easilv tamed, and acquires a cat-like aftection for the 

 house it inhabits. It is a native of .\frica. 



The Zenicks are less carnivorous than the rest of the Viverrida\ and 

 seem to form an intervening link between tlie Mangoustes and the family 

 of the Mustelidce or Martens. 



-A. specimen lived for some time in the Jardin des Plantes at Paris, but 

 nothing is known of the animal's habits in its wild state. 



