PALM-CIVETS. 459 



distinguished species of true palm-civets, five of which are found in India and 

 Burma. In nine of these species the tail is considerably more than half the 

 length of the head and body ; and in eight of these it is uniformly-coloured. The 

 Celebes palm-civet (P. musschenbroeki), forming the ninth in this series, is, how- 

 ever, distinguished by having its tail banded with indistinct rings of darker and 

 lighter brown. The imperfectly -known woolly palm-civet (P. laniger) was 

 described upon the evidence of a single skin, said to have been obtained from 

 Tibet, and differs from all the rest in the woolly nature of its fur, and also by the 

 length of the tail not exceeding that of the head and body. It is not certain that 

 it really belongs to the same genus as the other species. The eleventh species is 

 known only by a skull remarkable for the large size of its teeth. 



The best known of all the species is the common Indian palm-civet (P. niger) 1 , 

 found throughout the greater part of India and Ceylon, and figured on p. 458. In 

 this species the tail is nearly or quite as long as the head and body; and the 

 general colour of the coarse and somewhat ragged fur a blackish or brownish-grey, 

 without any stripes across the back in fully adult individuals. The length of the 

 head and body of a male measured by Mr. Blanford was 22 J inches, and that of 

 the tail 19 J inches; the corresponding dimensions of a female being in one instance 

 20 and 17 J inches, while in a second both were about 18 inches. 



Writing of this species, the late Dr. Jerdon observes that " it lives much on trees, 

 especially on the palmyra and cocoanut palms, and is often found to have taken up 

 its residence in the thick thatched roofs of native houses. I found a large colony 

 of them established in the rafters of my own house at Tellicherry. It is also 

 occasionally found in dry drains, outhouses, and other places of shelter. It is quite 

 nocturnal, issuing forth at dark, and living by preference on animal food, rats, 

 lizards, small birds, poultry, and eggs ; but it also freely partakes of vegetable food, 

 fruit, and insects. In confinement it will also eat plantains, boiled rice, bread-and- 

 milk, etc. Colonel Sykes mentions that it is very fond of cockroaches. Now and 

 then it will commit depredations on some poultry-yard, and I have often known 

 it taken in traps baited with a pigeon or a chicken. In the south of India it 

 is very often tamed, and becomes quite domestic, and even affectionate in its 

 manners. One I saw at Trichinopoli went about quite at large, and late every 

 night used to work itself under the pillow of its owner, roll itself up into a ball, 

 with its tail coiled round its body, and sleep till a late hour in the day. It hunted 

 for rats, shrews, and lizards. Their activity in climbing is very great, and they 

 used to ascend and descend my house at one of the corners in a most surprising 

 manner." This palm-civet is common in Lower Bengal, and in the gardens of the 

 suburban residences of Calcutta may occasionally be seen in the late afternoon or 

 evening crawling among the leaves of a palm previous to starting on its nocturnal 

 wanderings. That it will sometimes take up its quarters in the very heart of the 

 town of Calcutta is proved by an incident which happened to the present writer 

 when on the staff of the Geological Survey of India. At that time (1874) the 

 office of the Survey was situated in a street leading down to the Hughli, in the old 

 part of the city. On arriving at the office he found his papers on the writing- 

 table marked every morning with the footprints of some mammal. He thereupon 



1 Also known as P. musanga. 



