706 CLASS XVII. 



the bones of the fore-arm. The hycenas eat all kinds of offal and exhume 

 corpses ; ABISTOT. Hist. Anim. Lib. vi. c. 32, vm. c. 5. 



In caverns in the Hartz mountains, in Westphalia, in England (especi- 

 ally in the cave of Kirkdale in Yorkshire) fossil bones of a large species 

 have been found, which has the most resemblance in the teeth to Hycsna 

 crocuta: Hyaena spelcea GOLDFUSS ; see CUVIEE Ann. du Mus. xi. pp. 127 

 _ I44> pi. 43, and Reck, sur les Ossem. foss., GOLDFUSS Nov. Act. Acad. 

 Cces. Nat. Curios. XI. pp. 456462, Tab. 56, OWEN Brit. foss. Mamm. 

 pp. 138 1 60. 



/5_ 5 

 Proteles ISID. GEOFFR. Molar teeth small, distant (g-^Tg r 



frequently only \ ^ J Fore feet pentadactylous, with pollex 



raised, posterior tetradactylous, shorter. Back declining from the 



shoulders backwards. Tail very short, villous. 



Sp. Proteles Lalandii IBID. GEOFFR., Viverra hycenoides DESMAB., GU^RIN 

 Iconogr., Mamm. PI. 17, fig. 4, Cuv. R. Ani., ed. ill., Mamm. PI. 40, 

 fig. 3 ; an animal from South Africa, of the bearing of a small striped 

 hyaena ; it lives in holes, which it digs, like the fox. The molar teeth 

 differ much from those of the other carnivores ; this difference was formerly 

 ascribed incorrectly to the supposed fact, that the skull under observation 

 belonged to a specimen not full grown. Compare on this remarkable 

 animal ISID. GEOFFR. SAINT-HILAIRE Mem. du Mus. xi. 1824, pp. 354 

 371, PI. 20, Ann. des Sc. nat., Seconde Serie, vm. 1837, pp. 252 255 ; 

 GDR. Magas. de Zool. 1841, Mammif. PI. 31 ; SUNDEVALL in Fdrhand- 

 lingar vid de SkandinavisJce Naturforslcarnes tredje Mote, Stockholm, 1842, 

 pp. 643, 644, (translated in OKEN'S his, 1845, s. 436). There are 15 ribs 

 and 5 lumbar vertebrae ; the bony palate is very broad and the underjaw low. 



f* f^ 



Viverra L. (excl. of some species). Molar teeth p ^, false 



33 2 2 



molars -r -. , tuberculate j ^ . Feet pentadactylous, with claws 



small, incurved, pollex small, raised. (Dental formula OWEN, 

 . 3-3 1-1 4-4 2-2 



Comp. F. CUVIEB Des Dents des Mamm. pp. 99 102, PI. 34. There are 

 commonly 13 dorsal vertebrae and 7 lumbar vertebrae, the ordinary 

 number in many carnivores, in the cat- tribe for instance, and the dogs. 

 The trunk is elongated. 



Sp. Viverra Zibetha L., BUFF. ix. PI. 31, SCHREBER'S Saugih. Tab. 112, 

 BRANDT und KATZEB. Mediz. Zool. Tab. I. fig. i ; light brownish-grey with 

 brown spots ; the throat whitish, with oblique dark stripes ; tail shorter 

 than body, short-haired, with black and light-brown rings ; in the East 

 Indies. Viverra dvetta SCHREB., BUFF. 1. 1. PI. 34, Menag. du Mus. i. 

 pp. 218 234, BRANDT u. KATZEB. 1. 1. fig. 2, GUERIN Iconogr., Mamm. 



