MUNGOOSES. 



475 



having hitlierto been obtained of it. It is of about the same form and size as the 

 Egyptian muiigoose, with the full number of premolar teeth, and with the soles of 

 the hind-feet completely covered with hair as far as the roots of the toes. The 

 tail is about equal in length to the body, and the general colour is a uniform pale 

 brown, becoming lighter on the head, the individual hairs having but one or two 

 rings of different colours. 



The four remaining mungooses to be mentioned under this heading collectively 

 constitute the genus CVo.sx/r///.fx, which is distinguished from the preceding by 

 having only three premolar teeth on either side of each jaw, and likewise by the 

 under -surf ace of the hind -feet being completely naked. A further distinction 

 between the two is to be found in the circumstance that, while in Meller's mungoose 



THE CUSIMANSE (f nat. size). 



the palate of the skull is concave, in the members of the present genus it is com- 

 pletely flat. All are of burrowing habits. 



Of the four species, the cusimanse (C. obscurus), ranging in West Africa from 

 the Camerun Mountains to Sierra Leone, and the Gam bian mungoose (C.gambianus) 

 of the Gambia have uniformly-coloured and grizzled fur. The former, which is 

 figured above, is of a dull brown colour, with yellow tips to the hairs, while the 

 latter is grey, with the hairs ringed. On the other hand, the East African species, 

 namely, the zebra mungoose (C. zebra) and the banded mungoose (C. fasciatus), have 

 the back banded with transverse stripes, which are narrow in the former and broad 

 in the latter, as shown in the illustration on the next page. The zebra mungoose, 

 which is confined to Abyssinia, is further distinguished by the rufous colour of 

 the under-parts ; while in the banded mungoose, of which the range extends from 



