63 



was got at so readily as to induce the keeper to destroy her, notwith- 

 standing his wishes first to destroy her mate. 



Specimens and drawings of numerous animals referable to the 

 genus Paradoxurus were laid upon the table 5 and Mr. Gray entered 

 into a detailed account of the distinguishing characters of the group, 

 which he prefaced by some observations on the family of Fiverridce in 

 general, and concluded by the description of several new species. He 

 observed that the family may be divided, independently of the cha- 

 racters furnished by the teeth, into three sections, distinguished by the 

 baldness or hairiness of the soles of their hinder feet, and bv concur- 

 rent differences in the structure of their odorous glands. The first 

 of these is limited to the true Civets, the genus Viverra, in which the 

 under part of the hind-feet is entirely covered with hair, except on the 

 tips of the toes and the large tubercles at their base ; and the pouch 

 secreting the civet forms a deep cavity on each side near the amis. 

 The species of this group are : 1, the African Civet, Viverra Civetta, 

 L. ;— 2, the Zibttoi Bufibn, Hist. Nat. tom. ix. t. 34, Fiv. Zibetha, L., 

 which is the I'iu. undulata, Gray, Spic. Zool. p. 9, t. 8 ; — 3, the spotted 

 Civet, Viv. Tangalvngn, Gray, which is the Viv. Zibetha of M. F. 

 Cuvier, Dr. Horsfield, and Sir Stamford Raffles, and is readily distin- 

 guished from the last-mentioned species by a continuous longitudinal 

 band occupying the upper surface of the tail, the numerous irregular 

 rings being separated only on its inferior half; — 4, the Gunda Civet, 

 Viv. Rasse, Horsf., Viv. Gunda, Ham. MSS., which Dr. Horstield be- 

 lieves to be distinct from Viv. Indica, Geoffr. ; — 5, the pale.Civet, Viv. 

 pallida, Gray; — and (i, the Delundung, Viv. Linsang, Hardw., Felis 

 gracilis, Horsf. Of these the last three have the slender form of the 

 Gennets ; and one, the last, has been formed into a separate genus by 

 Dr. Horsfield ; the teeth however, according to the figure of that na- 

 turalist, agree exactly with those oiiheCivets, except in the deficiency 

 of the last upper molar. 



The second section is likewise limited to a single genus, Genetta, 

 in which the soles of the hinder feet have a narrow bald line extending 

 from the heel and bifurcating, so as to inclose a small triangular hairy 

 pad near the toes, the basal tubercle of which, and the tips of the 

 toes themselves, are bald. In this section also the anal pouches exist, 

 and the animals belonging to it, as well as to the former, when in con- 

 finement, frequently retrovert their tails, in order to press out, by rub- 

 bing against any hard substance within their reach, the odorous secre- 

 tion contained in the pouches. The species are: \,iheFossane, Viv. Fossa, 

 Erxl.; — -2, the Senegal Gemiet, Viv. Senegalensis, Fisch., from M. F. 

 Cuvier's ' Mammiferes Lithographies'; — 3, the feline Gennet, Viv.fe^ 

 Una, Thunb., which has certainly no affinity with the Civette de Ma~ 

 lacca of Sonnerat, doubtfully referred to it by M. Fischer ; — and4, the 

 common Gennet, Viv. Genetta, L. 



In the third section, which includes two very distinct subdivisions, 

 the entire sole is bald from the toes to the heel. One of the subdi- 

 visions has long, slender, and nearly free toes; anal pouches of greater 

 or less depth : and hair of a peculiarly harsh character and grizzled 



