MAMMALS OF I50RNK0. 25 



GENUS H E R P E S T E S . 

 HERPESTES BRACHYURUS. 



/Ier/>esfes brr7c//v!triis, Gra.y, Mzg. Nat. Hist, (new series), 

 i. 1837, p. 578. 



The type of this species is in the British Museum. The 

 general colour is dark blackish brown, finely punctulated with 

 yellow, more especially on the anterior half of the body and on 

 the shoulders, the caudal hairs being broadly black tipped, and 

 the head paler and more olive brown than the rest of the 

 body. The fore limbs and the lower half of the hind legs are 

 dark brown and unspeckled. The chin and throat are rusty 

 yellowish brown ; the chest and belly are brown, and the hairs 

 are banded much as on the back. The tail is untufted, and it 

 is broader at its baso, from which it gradually tapers to the tip. 

 Length from tip of muzzle to root of tail, i7"5o inches. 

 Length of tail without hairs 7 inches. Cantor records a male 

 1 8' 50 inches long, with the tail 9 inches. This mongoose is 

 fairly common in Borneo, being found all through the low 

 country, and on the mountains to the height of 3,000 feet. 

 It has a very peculiar smell. The Dyak name is ' Dumbang' ; 

 Kayan name, ' Dubang.' 



Hab. Baram River (C. Hose), Mount Dulit, 3,000-ft., 

 (C. Hose), Suai River (C. Hose), Sarawak (A. Everett). 



HERPESTES SEMITORQUATUS. 



Hcrpcstcs scinitorqiiafus^ Gray Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. 

 1846, vol. xviii., p. 211. 



"' This species is easily distinguished by the pale area along 

 the side of the neck, from whence it derives its specific name. 

 The general colour of the animal is rich orange-brown, most .^v 



intensely rufous on the sides of the body, the back and upper 

 parts of the side being finely marked with yellow, which 

 becomes very indistinct on the shoulders and outside of the 

 thighs ; the fore legs and the lower half of the hind legs are \J !> v>C/\' 



dark purplish-brown. The lower half of the sides of the neck j 



from the extremity of the muzzle backwards below the ear to 

 the front of the shoulder, is a rufous yellow and clearly marked 

 off from the colour of the upper part of the neck, which is dark 

 rufous-brown and punctulated, while the underlying neck-band 

 is not. V 



Dimensions — Length of head and trunk, i7'30 inches ; 

 tail without hair, 10-50 inches ; tail with hair, ii'7o inches. 



The'only skull seen of this species is distinguished by its 

 rather broad muzzle, and by apparently an imperfect orbit, as all 

 the sutures are lost, and yet the two processes are far apart. Tt 

 is found on the n^ountains to the height of 3500-ft., where it is 



