On some External Characters o/Cynogalc bcnnctlii. 351 



XXXI. — On some of the External Characters of Cynofjalc 

 beunettii, Gnnj. \\\ 11. I. Pocock, F.R.S., Supcriuteiidcnt 

 of the Zoological Socic'ty's Gardens. 



[Plate XIV.] 



Some of the external featnrc^ of this aberrant amphibious 

 civet have been often described. Nevertheless, several intcr- 

 cstin<^ points have l)een overlooked, and many of the published 

 statements re<:;ar(liiif^ the characters ol)scrved re(|uirc ampli- 

 fication or correction, the shortconiinjxs in qnestion beinj^ to 

 a great extent attributable to the enforced dependence of 

 authors upon dried skins or upon material defective in other 

 ways. 



The matter contained in this paper is based mainly upon 

 an examination of three specimens, an adult female and two 

 young, collected by the late Mr. A. Everett in N.W. Borneo 

 and preserved in alcohol in the British Museum"^. 



Colour. — Accounts of the colour of Cynoyale bennettii are 

 discrepant. In his very brief original description, published 

 in 1830, Gray said nothing on this ])oint, but in the following 

 year he described the colour as brown, -with the elongate 

 rigid hairs, rising from the soft crisp fur, black, with a 

 " sul)terminal silver-white band.^' This -was confirmed by 

 Eydoux and Soiileyet, who, in 1841, wrote: — " Les polls 

 soyeux, qui sont surtout apparents an dos, depassent uu pen 

 ceux de la bourre, et comme ils sont termines de blanc, ils 

 donnent au jjclage uue teintc generale glacee.^' 



Similarly, Schlcgel and Mliller (Zoog. Ind. Archipel, 

 p. 120, 1839) described the species as " donkcrbruine 

 ■witachtig gespikkeldc kleur'^ — that is to say, colour dark 

 brown, speckled with whitish. 



Flower and Lydekker (1891) copied Gray in recording 

 the fur :is dark brown mixed with black and grey. 



Finally, Sanyul wrote of a specimen living in the Gardens 

 at C^aleutta (P.'Z. S. 189i, p. 29(3) :— " Prevailing colour of 

 the fur grey, becoming grizzled white on the back, rump, 

 and outer surface of the limbs." 



On the other hand, Mivart, in 1882, said the colour of tlie 

 coat is red-brown, with no markings, save a very narrow 

 black line along the crown of the elongated head; and, 



* This paprr is published by pevuiission of the Trustees. On tliis, ns 

 on other occivjiiiin.«, I nni indebted to Mr. OldtieM Thomas lor untraui- 

 mulled access to the specimens under his charjre. 



