THE SENEGAL GENET. 



Throughout the animal kingdom there exists 

 a remarkable modification of the external forms 

 of the various species to the contour which 

 best fits them for the conditions under which 

 they live. By merely examining the dead body 

 of an animal its habits can be determined with 

 considerable accuracy. On the other hand, 

 from fore-knowledge of its mode of life, one 

 can predict the external appearance of an 

 animal before it has been seen. Thus amongst 

 the mammalia fleetness of foot is often associ- 

 ated with length of limb, as is seen in various 

 deer and antelopes ; aquatic animals are provided 

 with natural paddles as in the seals, or with 

 effective screw-propellers like the hind feet of the 

 water-shrew ; whilst those forms which live on a 

 special diet are duly provided with proper tools 

 for obtaining it, as we see in the elongated tongue 

 of the giraffe, the prehensile lip of the black 

 rhinoceros, and the burrowing claws of the ant- 

 bear. The insectivorous otter 1 shoots through the 

 clear waters of the West African streams impelled 

 by its long supple tail, and protected from drowning 

 by the valves closing its nostrils. The sluggish 



1. Potamogale velox ; a very rare insectivore, remarkable for its 

 very broad muzzle, its valvular nostrils, and its long compressed tail. 



