PARADOXURUS MUSANGA. 125 



uttered any sort of sound. He further states, that " the sharpness of 

 the coronal process of the molar teeth seems to indicate that the animal 

 is somewhat insectivorous, which I hear is actually the fact." 



Gen. PARADOXURUS, F. Cuvier. 



/> n 



Char. Molar teeth - - as in Viverra ; flesh-teeth, especially the 



lower one, thick, with conical tubercles ; all feet with five toes connected 

 by a web, the thumb not raised ; sole of the feet bald, tuberculous ; claws 

 semi-retractile ; tail very long, cylindrical. 



The Tree-cats are stouter in form than the Genets, with which they 

 have been confounded, and more uniform in their coloration ; their gait 

 is plantigrade. Their pupil is elliptic, and they are quite nocturnal in 

 their habits. Their dentition is very similar to that of dogs, but the 

 cerebral cavity is proportionally smaller. The bony orbit is not closed. 

 There is a glandular fold in some between the anus and genitals, 

 secreting a peculiar matter, without the odour of civet or musk j* but 

 not a distinct pouch. They are chiefly inhabitants of the Indian region, 

 and a considerable number of species have been lately made known. 

 They climb trees remarkably well, and roost during the day either on 

 trees or on the roofs of houses, among the rafters. Their diet is of a 

 mixed character. 



The character of the tail, from which the generic name was derived, is 

 shown by Blyth to have been the result of some deformity, and not to be 

 a normal state. It can be rolled up, but is not prehensile. 



This genus is linked toPrionodonby a Malayan species, P. ? derby anus, 

 Gray, of which Cantor remarks, " The serrated false molars, the soles 

 hairy under the toes, the somewhat remote thumb, are characters by 

 which this animal differs from Paradoxurus, and forms a link between 

 that genus and Priondon." It has indeed been made the type of a 

 distinct genus, Hemigalea, by Jourdain. 



123. Paradoxurus Musanga. 



Viverra apud MARSDEN. BLYTH, Cat. 148. Figd. F. CUVIER, Mamm. 

 2, pi. 55. P. typus, F. CUVIER. ELLIOT, Cat. 23. P. Pattasii, P. 

 musangoides, P. Crossii, and P. dubius, GRAY. P. prehensilis, andViverra 



* Cantor, Cat. Mamtn., Malay. 



