235 , 



THE ANUBIS ZERDA. 



Megalotis famelicus. 



Canis famelicus, Krcetschmer. — Sabora of the Arabs^. 



This species is one foot eight inches long ; the tail, 

 one foot tw© inches; the ears, three inches ten 

 lines ; and the stature, at the shoulder, ten inches 

 six lines. This little animal stands high compared 

 with its length ; the head is more pointed than that 

 of the former ; the hair is silky, grey on the back, 

 fawn colour towards the sides; the nose whitish, 

 w^ith a chestnut streak on each side, from the nostrils 

 upwards to round the eyes; the tail above dark, 

 beneath white, with five or six indistinct darker 

 spots, the tip white; inside the thighs and belly 

 whitish ; throat, and side of the limbs, pale buff; 

 the soles clad with woolly fur. In adults, there is 

 a distinct chestnut streak running from the occiput 

 along the back to the tail. In young animals this 

 mark is broader, but less distinct. Mr Ruppel 

 found this species in Kordofan, in the direction of 

 Nubia. Professor Kraetschmer is inclined to believe 

 the figures taken for jackals designed on Egyptian 

 temples, and in the catacombs of Thebes, to refer 

 to the present species ; in which case he might well 

 have denominated it Anubis. The species burrows, 

 and hunts birds and small mammalia, such as 

 jerboas, &c. 



