MUNGOOSES. 



475 



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

 Eg3'ptian mungoose, with the full number of premolar teeth, and with the soles of 

 the hind-feet completel}' 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, becomin"' 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 Crossarckus, which is distinguished from the preceding by 

 having only three premolar teeth on either side of each ja^v■, and likewise by the 

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

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



THE CUSI5IANSE (^ uat. size). 



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

 pletelj- flat. All are of burrowing habits. 



Of the four species, the cusiman.se (C. oh>:curus), ranging in West Africa from 

 the Camerun Mountains to Sierra Leone, and the Gand>ian nmu'^oose(C. gamhianu.'^) 

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

 figured above, is of a cluU brown colour, with yellow ti[is 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) ami the banded mungoose (C. fasciatiis), have 

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

 in the latter, as shown in the illusti-ation 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 



