YIVEBRA. 97 



Ears small, rounded. Tail thick, scarcely tapering, more than 

 half as long as the head and body. A crest of longer black erectile 



Fig. 23. Vivcrra zibctha. (From Hodgson's drawings.) 



hairs along the back from shoulders to insertion of tail. The 

 scent-glands, when dissected out, are each 2-5 inches long by 

 1-5 broad. 



In the skull the bony palate is continued about a quarter to 

 half an inch behind a line joining the last upper molars, the ter- 

 mination being concave. Nasals short. Mandible convex below. 

 Last upper molar one and a half times as broad as long, but last 

 lower molar much longer than broad. 



Colour. General coloration dark hoary grey, with often a brownish 

 or yellowish tinge. Underfur brown ; terminal portion of the 

 longer hairs white with black tips on the upper part of the body. 

 A black stripe, corresponding to the erectile crest, from between 

 the shoulders to the first dark tail-ring, but not down the tail, 

 which is completely surrounded by six broad black rings, the last 

 terminal, all much broader than the white rings between them. 

 A pale band borders the black dorsal line on each side, especially 

 towards the rump. Sides of the body generally without markings ; 

 sometimes, however, indistinct spots and imperfect ocelli occur, 

 forming wavy transverse bands on the sides, and longitudinal 

 bands separated by narrow whitish lines on the loins. Legs indi- 

 stinctly barred outside near the body, all the distal portions and 

 the feet dark brown or black. Head grey ; chin brown ; a dark 

 spot behind the ear ; hind neck much mixed with black ; front and 

 sides of neck and upper breast white, crossed by a broad black 

 gorget, and generally, but not always, by a narrower band in front 

 and another behind ; the hindmost meets a horizontal band runr- 

 ning back from behind the ear along the side of the neck. 



In a half-grown British-Museum specimen from Nepal the 

 black dorsal band appears to extend in front of the shoulders. The 

 coloration otherwise resembles that of the adult. 



n 



