180 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



short and webbed nearly to the claws. For the rest, it is a pretty, innocent-looking little animal, with 

 a body about a foot long, and a tail of some eighteen inches, covered with soft brown fur, and walking 

 on the soles of its fore feet, while in the hind feet the heel is well raised from the ground. The 

 skull is remarkable for its rounded form, and for the shortness of its facial portion : on a superficial 

 examination it looks almost Cat-like. It feeds upon fruit, eggs, insects, birds, &c. It is found in 

 Mexico, Guatemala, and in the great forests of Peru and North Brazil. 



THE CACOMIXLE.* 



The Cacomixle, Civet, or ring-tailed Cat, as it is indifferently called by the miners of the districts 

 where it is found, is a puzzling little creature, which was, until quite recently, placed in the Civet 



family, and, in consequence, was looked upon as one of the 

 chief difficulties in the way of explaining satisfactorily the 

 present geographical distribution of animals, for all the 

 other Viverridce are Old World forms. Its true place has, 

 however, at last been assigned to it, and the anomaly is 

 at an end : for, like all other members of the Racoon 

 family, it is confined to America, where it occurs in 

 California, Texas, and the higher regions of Mexico. 



The Cacomixle is about a yard long, two-fifths of this 

 Its fur is brown, and its tail beautifully ringed. Its habits are 



It has a curious habit of gnawing 



SKt'I/L OF CACOMIXLE. 



length being taken up by the tail. 



entirely arboreal, and it makes a moss-lined nest in hollow trees. 



the wood round the entrance of the hole, so that hunters are able to tell whether a hollow tree is 



CACOMIXLE. 



inhabited or not, by the presence or absence of debris of bark and wood at the root. It frequently 

 trespasses into the miner's tent " and plunders his provision bag. When caught, as it often is, it 

 becomes so familiar and amusing, and does so much to relieve the mdnotony of the miner's life, that it 

 is highly valued, and commands quite a large price." It is said to be a capital mouser. 



THE PANDA FAMILY.f 



This group, which has received a most unfortunate name, as it belongs to the Arctoidea and not 

 to the jflluroidea, contains only two genera, one of which has been recently discovered, while the 

 other has been known for many years. 



* Bassaris astuta. 



Ailuridce. 



