CATALOGUE. 107 



general appearance and colouring of Mydaus, combined with a dentition 

 resembling that of Gulo or Mustela, but differing from both the latter 

 genera in the large internal central lobe of the upper carnivorous tooth." 

 This character was drawn from the Hel. moschata, Gray. An ana- 

 logous structure of the upper carnivorous tooth, somewhat modified, 

 exists in the Javanese species of Helictis, which is described in the 

 article Gulo orientalis, Horsfield's Zool. Research, in Java, &c. 



" The Helictis orientalis is somewhat smaller than the English Pole- 

 cat. The form of its body, in comparison with the Gluttons, is rather 

 slender : it is chiefly covered with fur consisting of long hairs closely 

 arranged, silky at the base, of a brown colour, and somewhat glossy, 

 with a slight tint of reddish brown ; in certain lights it appears diversi- 

 fied, grayish and tawny. This fur covers greatest part of the body and 

 head, and the whole of the tail and extremities ; the colour of these 

 parts is consequently brown, or reddish brown, with occasional shades 

 of rufous and tawny : the sides of the head, the neck, the throat, breast, 

 and a broad spot on the top of the head, which passes, gradually 

 decreasing in breadth, to the middle of the back, are white, with an 

 obscure tint of Isabella yellow, of different degrees of intensity : this 

 colour also exists, less distinct, in a longitudinal band along the lowest 

 part of the abdomen. From the posterior angle of the eye, a narrow 

 dark brown band passes in a curve towards the throat, and returns 

 again to the posterior part of the ear, where it unites to the lobe. On 

 the forehead, between the eyes, is a transverse band, of a grayish hue, 

 united to an obscure longitudinal streak, which extends along the 

 summit of the head, from the region of the eyes to the crown. The 

 borders of the upper jaw and of the ear are whitish. The head is rather 

 small and compressed, and the face gradually tapers to an obtuse nose. 



" The limbs, both anterior and posterior, are slender, and the feet 

 agree in structure with those of the other animals belonging to the 

 first tribe of the family of Carnivores ; the soles are naked, and formed 

 for the plantigrade mode of walking. Each foot is provided with five 

 claws, which are horny, transparent, compressed, curved, and larger on 

 the fore than on the hind feet. They are regular in their dimensions ; 

 those of the middle toe are longest ; they are somewhat shorter on the 

 index and on the fourth toe, but equal one to the other ; on the thumb 

 and small toe they are smallest. The thumb is placed somewhat behind 

 the other toes. Although the claws have considerable resemblance to 



\ \ superiores mediocres transversi, inferiores exigui. Caput elongatum. Pedes 

 breves ; plantse ad calcaiieum fere nudse : digit! 5 5 ; ungues validee, anteriores 

 longae compressae. (fossoriae H.). Cauda cylindrica mediocris. 



