MAMMALS 31 



comes extinct its mimic runs grave danger of becom- 

 ing extinct too ; for its conspicuous livery is now 

 a signal of palatable qualities instead of being associ- 

 ated in the minds of its enemies with the nauseous 

 properties of the extinct model. It is therefore in the 

 highest degree probable that the rarity of Mydaus 

 meliceps accounts for the fact that it is not mimicked 

 by the Helictis, as is M. javanensis. Evidently Mydaus 

 meliceps has a great struggle to maintain its position, 

 if it is not actually on the verge of extinction, and 

 on account of its rarity its conspicuous colouring 

 cannot be a very familiar object to the creatures that 

 prey on small Carnivora in fact, to put it crudely, 

 the Mydaus in Borneo is a poor model to copy. The 

 fact that a highly distasteful form is extremely rare 

 in one island and is comparatively abundant in another 

 is very instructive, for it shows that unpalatability is 

 not necessarily a complete protection. The numbers 

 of the Bornean Mydaus may perhaps be kept down 

 by parasitic worms, or it may be peculiarly susceptible 

 to certain bacterial diseases from which the Javan 

 form is free. 1 These are mere speculations, but it is 

 well to realize that an animal, which naturalists call 

 " protected " by nauseous properties, may have hosts 

 of enemies entirely indifferent to these properties. 

 The Bornean Stoat, Putorius nudipes, is rusty-red 



1 Dr. Hose writes : " Mydaus is found in Borneo where the land 

 has been cultivated, and but seldom in the dense forest. It makes 

 burrows in the earth and feeds to a great extent upon worms. It 

 would be impossible for it to get worms in the net-work of roots 

 in the forest. In the hilly cultivated districts of the interior 

 where the old jungle has been completely cleared it is not 

 uncommon." E. B. P. 





