6l2 MANUAL OF ZOOLOGY. 



moderate size, with sharp muzzles and long tails, and more or 

 less striped, or banded, or spotted. The carnassial molar is 

 trenchant ; the canines are long, sharp, and pointed ; and the 

 tongue is roughened by numerous prickly papillae. The claws 

 are semi-retractile, and the pupils can contract, on exposure to 

 light, till they resemble a mere line. In most of their charac- 

 ters, therefore, the Civets are much more highly carnivorous 

 than are any of the preceding families, and' they approach in 

 many respects very close to the typical group of the Digitigrada 

 (viz., the Felidce], having especially very close affinities with 

 the Hyaenas. All the species of the family are furnished with 

 anal glands, which secrete the peculiar fatty substance known 

 as " civet." 



The true Civet-cat is the Viverra dvetta, a native of Africa. 

 It is a small nocturnal animal, which climbs trees with facility, 

 and feeds chiefly upon small mammals, reptiles, and birds, but 

 also upon roots and fruits. It furnishes the greater part of the 

 " civet " of commerce, which was formerly in great repute both 

 as a perfume and as a medicinal agent. It is a pomade-like 

 substance with a strong musky odour, and is secreted by a 

 deep double pouch beneath the anus. The Genette ( Viverra 

 genetta) is very closely related to the preceding, and is a native 

 of Africa and southern Europe, being not uncommonly do- 

 mesticated and kept like a cat. The anal pouch in the Ge- 

 nette is much reduced in size, and has hardly any perceptible 

 secretion. Another nearly-allied species is the Ichneumon 

 (Herpestes\ which is kept as a domestic animal in Egypt, and 

 lives upon Snakes, Lizards, the eggs of the Crocodile, and 

 small Mammals. 



Forming a transition between the Viverridcz and the Fdida 

 is the family of the Hycenidce, distinguished by the fact that, 

 alone of all the Carnivora, both pairs of feet have only four 

 toes each. The hind-legs are shorter than the fore-legs, so that 

 the trunk sinks towards the hind-quarters, and the tail is short. 

 The tongue is rough and prickly. The head is extremely 

 broad, the muzzle rounded, and the muscles of the jaw 

 extremely powerful and well developed. The claws are non- 

 retractile. All the molars are trenchant except the last upper 

 molar, which is tuberculate. The upper carnassial has a small 

 internal tubercle, and the lower carnassial is wholly trenchant. 

 There is a deep glandular pouch beneath the anus. .-- 



There are two well-known species of Hysena, and the whole 

 group is exclusively confined to the Old World. The best- 

 known species is the Striped Hyaena (Hycena striatd), which is 

 found in North Africa, Asia Minor, Arabia, and Persia. It is 



