XIII HYAENAS ALA iI 
closed by bone. The Suricate lives in caves and rock crevices, 
and will dig burrows. It is distinctly a diurnal animal, and sits 
upon its hind-legs after the fashion of a Marmot. As Buffon 
noticed in a tame specimen (thought by him to be a native of 
Surinam), the animal barks like a dog. The Suricate is largely 
vegetarian, living upon roots. 
Fic. 203.—Suricate. Swricata tetradactyla. 4. 
Fam. 4. Hyaenidae.— Unlike though the Hyaenas appear to 
be to the last family—mainly perhaps on account of size—they 
are, nevertheless, very nearly akin to them, more so than to the Cat 
tribe. It will be remembered that the striping and spotting of 
the Hyaenas is very Genet- and Suricate-lke. — 
There are admittedly two genera among the Hyaenidae, 
Hyaena itself with three species,’ and the Aard Wolf, Prote/es, with 
but one. But Dr. Mivart considers that the Spotted Hyaena should 
form a genus apart, Crocuta—a proceeding which was initiated 
by the late Dr. Gray of the British Museum. The Hyaenidae 
are to be distinguished by the following characters :—There are 
generally four toes, always so in the hind-foot. The claws are 
non-retractile. The nose and upper lip are grooved. The molar 
formula is Pm# M+. The soles of the feet are covered with 
hairs upon the tarsus and metatarsus. No scent glands. 
Tail short.» Dorsal vertebrae more numerous than in other 
Aeluroids, 7.e. fifteen. The bulla is divided by a rudimentary 
septum only. 
' For the anatomy of Hyaenas see Morrison Watson in Proc. Zool. Soc. 1877, 
p- 369; 1878, p. 416; and 1879, p. 79. 
