316 



THE VIVERRID.E. 



From the order of Carnivora I might also select, in the wild 

 plains in the Old World, more than one curious species for our 

 investigation, if my space permitted me to pass in review the two 

 families of the Viverridse and the Mustelidse. To the former belong 

 the famous Ichneumon, that assiduous reptile-destroyer which the 

 ancient Egyptians included in their religious cultus ; the Genets 

 (Viverra genetta) with their sleek, soft fur, natives of the western 

 parts of Asia, India, and Java; the Civets (Viverra civetta), 



STRIPED PARODOXL-RE OF JAVA DEVOURING A CRESTED GOURA. 



which furnish the commerce of Europe and the East with a once 

 popular scent, to which important medical virtues were attributed ; 

 the Zibeth (Viverra zibetha}, a maneless civet, peculiar to Asia as the 

 latter is to Africa, and met with in Sumatra, Borneo, Amboyna. the 

 Celebes, and Hindostan ; and, finally, the Paradoxures (animals 

 with a fantastic or paradoxical tail), so named by Cuvier because 

 the individual studied by that great naturalist kept his tail con- 

 stantly coiled up and inclined on the same side. All these Carni- 



