MAMMALS 29 



family. F. badia is a very rare species of a handsome 

 chestnut-red colour ; it is peculiar to the island. 



It may be mentioned here that the domestic Cat of 

 the Malays is quite a distinct variety, which, however, 

 on account of its ugliness, is never likely to become as 

 popular in cat-fancier circles as the beautiful Siamese 

 breed. It is a very small tabby with large ears and a 

 body so short and hind-legs so long that it altogether 

 lacks the sinuous grace which even the most mongrel 

 English Grimalkin exhibits. The tail is either an absurd 

 twisted knot or else very short and terminating in a 

 knob ; this knotting of the tail is caused by a natural 

 dislocation of the vertebrae so that they join on to 

 each other at all sorts of angles. A cross between 

 the Malay breed and an English Cat produces a hybrid 

 with a tail that has a slight kink in it, just two of the 

 vertebras, perhaps, joining at an angle, and the kink in 

 the tail is one of the most important " points " of the 

 Siamese Cat in fact, I doubt if a Siamese Cat with a 

 perfectly straight tail would take a first prize at a 

 Crystal Palace Show. 1 



The Musteline Carnivora are represented in Borneo 

 by a fair number of species. Mr. R. I. Pocock has 

 recently 2 published a very interesting memoir on the 

 coloration of these animals, and has shown in the 

 most convincing way that certain forms are protected 

 by nauseous odours or other distasteful properties, 



1 H. O. Forbes, I think, exhibited a kink-tailed Malay Cat [Note 4, 

 p. 312], showing the cause of the phenomenon to be the|development 

 of wedge-shaped cartilages between the vertebras of the tail. It 

 is said that these Cats are common in Portugal, whence perhaps 

 they were introduced into Malaya. A pure-bred Siamese Cat has 

 a straight tail ; a kink shows crossing with a Malay Cat. H. N. R. 



2 P.Z.S., 1908, pp. 944-59. 



