THE TRUE CIVETS 



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greater part of India, although not occurring in Sind and the Punjab, and some 

 of the adjacent portions of Rajputana. It is also found in Ceylon, and extends east- 

 ward from India through Assam to Burma and the Malay Peninsula, and thence 

 to Southern China, Java, and other islands. It has been introduced into Socotra, 

 Madagascar, and the Comoro Isles. The rasse is said to differ from the other true 

 civets in being a good climber and arboreal in its habits. It is, however, found in 

 bush-covered districts rather than in thick forests ; dwelling either in holes in the 

 ground or among rocks. In confinement it is easily tamed, and feeds on such small 

 animals as it can catch. 



The comparatively large number of true civits inhabiting India and Malaysia, 

 as contrasted with the single representative of the genus found in Africa, suggests 



THE RASSE. 

 (One-seventh natural size.) 



that in the later periods of the earth's history the Oriental region was the original 

 home of the group. This is confirmed by what we know of their past history, for 

 the remains of an extinct species have been found in a cavern in Madras, and 

 those of two others in the Pliocene rocks of the Siwalik hills in the north of 

 India ; one of the species from the latter district being far larger than any existing 

 civet. 



At a still earlier period in the I^ower Miocene and Upper Eocene civets 

 were inhabitants of Western Europe, their remains having been discovered both in 

 England and on the Continent. We have thus another instance of the derivation of 

 the modern mammalian fauna of the East from the old European fauna, to which 



