126 TIYEERID^. 



beast, and the growling is generally accompanied bj' a bristling 

 of the hair, especially of the tail. It is cleanly in its habits, and, 

 after feeding, picks its teeth with its claws, a habit that has been 

 noticed by more than one observer. 



The name H. griseus, adopted by many authors for this species, 

 is taken from Greoffroy's Ichneumon fjriseus, which does not, I think, 

 belong to the Indian animal at all ; whilst Grmelin's name, derived 

 from the Munr/os or Viverra muixjos of Kaempfer and Linnaeus, 

 clearly by its name aiul description was intended for the common 

 Indian mungoose, and has priority by more than twenty years. 



61. Herpestes smithi. The rudchj Mungoose. 



Ilerpestes smithii, Gray, Charh'sxvortli s Ma(/. Nat. Hist, i, p. 578 



(1837) ; id. P. Z. S. 1851, p. 131, pi. xxx ; Blijth, Cat. p. 50 ; Jcrdun, 



Mam. p. 135 ; Anderson, An. Zool. Res. p. 176. 

 Ilei'ptstes thjsanurus, Wagner, Mimch. (jel. Anz. ix, p. 440 (1839) ; 



Schreb. Sauf/etJt. Supp. ii, p. 301. 

 CrcssarcLus lubigiuosus, Wayner, Schreb. Sauyeth. Siqip. ii. p. 329. 

 Herpestes ellioti, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xx, p. 162. 

 Ilerpestes rubigiuosus, Kelaart, Frod. p. 43. 

 Herpestes jerdonii and Calictis smithii, Gray, P. Z. S. It64, pp. 6o0, 



565. 

 Herpestes monticolns, Jerdon, Mum. p. 135. 



Kunda ycntava, Tel. ; Erima-ixiri-inlui, Tani.; Ditu, Ciug. 



Fur long, harsh, and rather ragged. Tail nearly as long as the 

 head and body, or, including the terminal hair, longer. Naked sole 

 beneath tarsus extending nearly to the heel but not quite. 



Skull diii'eriug but little from that of //. raungo, except that the 

 mesopterygoid fossa is narrower, and the pterygoids diverge 

 slightly behind. The teeth are a little larger. 



Colour. Varying from light brownish grey speckled with white 

 as in II. mungo, lo rufous or iron grey, a mixture of black, ferru- 

 ginous red, and white. The terminal portion of the tail, 3 or 4 

 inches long, jet-black, passing into ferruginous proximally, re- 

 mainder of the tail concolorous with the body. Feet generally 

 darker, rufous brown or blackish. Louer parts sometimes paler 

 than back. Underfur grey to greyish brown, longer hairs with 

 alternations of while and dark brown or black, usually four rings of 

 ea;-h ; tip from light brown to deep ferruginous, almost blood-red. 



Dimensions. Head and body about 20 inches, tail 19. 8ome 

 measurements are smaller. A male skull measures 3 inches in 

 basal length, and 1*7 broad across the zygomatic arches. 



Distribution. This species has a wide range in India, being 

 found throughout the peninsula and Ceylon. Jerdon obtained it 

 near Madras, near Nellore, and at the foot of the Nilgiris ; Col. 

 McMaster at Gawilgurh, lierar. Mr. Ball found it in fSingh- 

 bhoom ; I procured what 1 believe was this sjKK'ies in the liajpipla 

 hills east of Surat ; there is a skin in Mr. Hume's collection from 

 iSambhur in Rajputiina ; and the type of 11. thgtuinurus, which is 



