96 MAMMALIA, 



xxvi. is grey, witli a long tail, terminated with a black tuft ; it is 

 larger than our cat, and as slender as a marten. It chiefly hunts 

 for the eggs of the crocodile, but also feeds on all sorts of small ani- 

 mals; brought up in houses, it hunts mice, reptiles, &c. By the 

 Europeans at Cairo it is called Pharaoh's Rat; by the natives, Nems. 

 The antient tradition of its jumping down the throat of the croco- 

 dile, to destroy it, is entirely fabulous. 



The Mangouste of India; Fiv. mungos, Liin.; BuiF. XIII, xix; 

 and that of the Cape, Fiv. cafra, Gm.; Schreb. CXVI. B., are 

 smaller, both having a pointed tail, and a grey or brown fur, the lat- 

 ter being more of an ashy, and the former more of a fawn colour, 

 having, besides, some red about the cheeks and jaws. 



The Mangouste of India is celebrated for its combats with the 

 most dangerous serpents, and for having led us to the knowledge of 

 the Ophiorhiza mangos, as an antidote to their poison. 



There is also the Mangouste of Java — H. Javanicus, reddish 

 brown; cheeks of a chestnut-red; throat more fawn-coloured: a 

 large one, from the marshes of the Cape — H. paludinosus, of an al- 

 most uniform reddish-brown, verging to a black, a little lighter on 

 the chin: a third from the Cape — H. penicillatus, of a greyish fawn 

 colour, tip of the tail white: one from Senegal — H. albicaudus, 

 grey, tail all white : it is difficult, however, to establish very specific 

 differences between these animals. 



RyziENA, Illig. 



The Surikates have a strong resemblance to the Mangoustes, even to 

 the tints and transverse streaks of the hair, but are distinguished from 

 them, and from all the Carnivora of which we have hitherto spoken, by 

 having only four toes to each foot. They also are higher on their legs, 

 and they have not the small molar immediately behind the canine tooth. 

 Their pouch extends into the anus. 



One species only is known, a native of Africa — Fiv. tetradactyla, 

 Gm. ; Buff. XIII, viii, a little less than the Mangouste of India*. 



Grossarchus, Fred. Cuv. 



The muzzle, teeth, pouch, and walk of the Surikates, the toes and ge- 

 nital organs of the Mangoustes. 



One species only is known — Crossarchus obscurus, Fred. Cuv., 

 from Sierra Leone, of the size of the Surikate; greyish brown; 

 cheeks a little paler, and a hairy tale. 



We should here mention a singular animal from the south of 

 Africa, known only while young; which, to the five anterior toes, 

 and the four hind ones, and the slightly elongated head of the ci- 

 vets, adds the raised feet, the short hind ones, and the mane of the 

 hyena; it also singularly resembles the striped hyena in the colours 

 of its fur. The thumb of the fore foot is short and higher; it is the 



* The Zenik of Sonnerat, Voy. II. pi. xcii, appears to differ from the Surikate, 

 merely because it is roughly drawn. 



