756 Mr. E. I. Pocock on Warning Charaderiatii'S 



garlic-like ii;iture. Probably it may be compared to tlie 

 scent of porcupines, which has been likened to that o£ human 

 perspiration. The combination of the objectionable smell 

 with the partial or complete whiteness of the coloration, and 

 nocturnal habits, and insect diet justifies the opinion that 

 this animal is distasteful, like the musk-shrew, although, 

 so far as 1 am aware, there is as yet no actual experimental 

 evidence of the fact. 



There is one ^S^luroid carnivore which may be claimed 

 with some assurance, I thiiik, as warningly coloured. This 

 is the so-called crab-eating mongoose {Mwigos urva or 

 cancrivcra) of Assam, Burma, and Southern China. The 

 typical mongocses have annulated fur, giving them a charac- 

 teristic and uniformly speckled appearance ; but the prevailing 

 colour of J/, urva is paler grey above, owing to the long 

 white tips of the haiis. The head is darkish brown, ticked 

 with white, and there is a conspicuous white stripe, set off 

 by the dark tint of the throat, running backwards from the 

 angle of the mouth to the shoulder. The legs are dark brown 

 or nearly black. In the combination of colours above 

 described, this species departs widely from typical members 

 of the genus. It also differs from them in habits. According to 

 Hodgson * it makes use of the secretion of the anal glands 

 in the same way as the skunk. Hodgson described this 

 secretion as "aqueous, horribly foetid, and projectile [sic) to 

 a great distance by the living animal." Coupling this habit 

 with the light tint o£ the body and bushy tail, and with the 

 presence of the well-marked white stripe on each side of the 

 neck, it is obvious to suggest, in view of the prevalence of 

 pale coloration on the U|(})erside of such mammals as the 

 badger and rate!, that tiie coloration of. the crab-eating 

 mongoose makes tor conspicuousness. And since this species 

 feeds mostly, according to Hodgson, upon crabs and frogs, 

 for the capture of which procryptic coloration can hardly be 

 necessary on account of the indifferent visual powers of these 

 animals, it can scarcely be claimed that the dark head and 

 white neck-stripes of the mongoose are subservient to the 

 purpose of concealment from prey. 



hJorae of the members of the civet family have a very 

 strong scent, notably the rasse {^Viverricula malaccensis) , 

 whose smell, exactly resembling that of the uiine of Mus 

 musculus, can be detected by the human nose at a consider- 

 able distance. Presumably this smell proceeds from the 



* Joimi. As. Soc. Bengal, vi. pt. 2, pp. o6o-o6.5 (1837); sec also 

 Blaiiiord, ' Fauna of British India : Mammalia,' p. ISO (1888). 



