THE MUNGOOSES 471 



According to Mr. Wallace, this animal is exceedingly rare in Borneo. Not 

 only does it swim well and readily, but it is also said to be a ready climber. In addi- 

 tion to fish, crabs, etc. , which form a considerable proportion of its diet, it is 

 also reported to eat the flesh of such land animals as it can catch, and likewise 

 various fruits. 



THE MUNGOOSES 

 Genus Herpestes, etc. 



Of late years the time-honored name ichneumon, applied to the Egyptian rep- 

 resentative of the group of civet-like animals, into the consideration of which we 

 now enter, has been very generally rejected by zoological writers in favor of the 

 term mungoose, the native Indian name for the Oriental species. 



Using, then, the latter term, the mungooses form a well-defined group of small 

 civet-like animals, with very long and generally uniformly-colored bodies and tails, 

 which differ in several important characteristics from the members of the family 

 hitherto noticed. A large number of the mungooses are included in the typical genus 

 Herpestes, of which the range includes not only the African, but also the Indian and 

 Malayan regions ; and of which one species is found in Spain. The other mun- 

 gooses come from Africa, which may thffs be regarded as the headquarters of the 

 group. ^ 



The mungooses differ from the members of the civet family yet described by 

 several important modifications in the structure of the skull, into the consideration 

 of which it would be impossible to enter in the present work. It may be observed, 

 however, that the socket of the eye (orbit) is very frequently surrounded by a com- 

 plete bony ring, while in all the forms hitherto noticed it is widely open behind ; 

 and that the teeth are always relatively tall, with sharp cusps adapted for a thor- 

 oughly carnivorous diet. Mungooses may be distinguished at a glance by their long 

 straight claws, which are incapable of retraction, and are, therefore, always pro- 

 truded, like those of a dog ; and no mungoose ever has scent glands comparable to 

 those so generally present among the true civets and palm-civets. 



So important are these differences that zoologists now divide the civet tribe into 

 three primary groups, or subfamilies ; the first of these being represented solely by 

 the fossa of Madagascar, the second including the true civets, genets, palm-civets, 

 etc. , and the third the mungooses and their allies. 



The true mungooses, or those constituting the genus Herpestes^ are so well 

 known as to be familiar to many of our readers. They have long, weasel-like 

 bodies, and a more or less elongated tail, which is generally thick at the root, and 

 may be covered with long hair ; its general color being like that of the body, but 

 the tip oftea^-darker. The longer hairs of almost all the mungooses are marked with 

 alternate darker and lighter rings, which communicate a peculiar and characteristic 

 speckled appearance to the fur. The head has a pointed muzzle, with a rather short 

 nose, in i^Jiich there is a median groove on the completely naked under surface. 

 The ears are small and rounded. The limbs are likewise of extreme shortness, the 



