XIII CIVETS AND GENEDS 403 
Fam. 3. Viverridae.—The Civets, Genets, and their kind 
differ from the Cats in a number of points. They form, however, 
by no means so uniform an assemblage as do the Cats; so that the 
difficulty is, as Dr. Mivart has remarked, not to divide them into 
sub-families, but to avoid making too many. But before pro- 
ceeding to subdivide the family we shall describe the characters 
of the family and contrast them with those of the Felidae. 
All the Viverridae are comparatively small creatures. The 
head and body are more elongate than in the Cats. The fingers and 
toes are generally five; but there are some (e.g. Cynictis) where 
the formula of the toes is as in the Cats, 7.e. four on the hind-foot. 
In the Suricate the fingers are also reduced to four. The claws are 
perhaps never completely retractile,’ and often are not at all so. 
The dental formulae of the genera differ considerably ; but in the 
majority there are more teeth than in the Felidae. The well- 
known sharp-pointed, conical papillae of the Cat’s tongue are not 
present. The majority have a scent gland beneath the tail, from 
which the perfume civet is derived. There are a number of 
osteological characters which differentiate the two families; thus 
the alisphenoid canal is sometimes present. The bulla is divided, 
as in the Cats, but is externally constricted. 
It seems clear from some at any rate of the characters, 7.e. the 
more complete dentition, the five-fingered hands and feet, the 
non-retractile claws, ete., that the Civets are on a lower level of 
specialisation than are the Cats. 
Sub-Fam. 1. Euplerinae.—The genus Lupleres is in many 
ways the most aberrant type of Viverrid, and is placed in a 
sub-family, Euplerinae. Its salient feature is the very peculiar 
dentition : peculiar in the small size of the canines, the canine-lke 
character of the anterior premolars, and the resemblance of the pre- 
molars to molars. In some of the characters of the teeth, Hupleres 
is Insectivore-hke, and was formerly grouped with that family. 
There are four premolars and two molars in each jaw on each 
side. It has five toes upon both fore- and hind-limbs; the skull 
is very slender. It has no alisphenoid canal. The only species, 
E. goudotii, is of an olive-grey colour, with dark bands across the 
shoulders in the young. The nose and upper lip are grooved. 
There are no scent glands. It appears to burrow in the ground, 
and possibly contents itself with a diet of worms. Hupleres is a 
1 The retractility is most marked in the Linsangs. 
