98 



VlVERRID.E- 



-JIAJIMALIA.- 



- ViVERRID.E. 



Javanese ichneumon, as it is sometimes called, is 

 rather darker tliaii that of the moongiis and its allies. 



THE EATLAMUCHI {Ilerpcstes biidius) inhabits the 

 Cape of Good Hope and neighhonring parts of southern 

 Africa. According to Dr. J. E. Gray, the fur is of a 

 " red bay, the hairs being of a iniiform colour, except 

 a few just over the shoulder nape, which have a black 

 sub-apical ring." The ratlaniuchi, in common with its 

 congeners, is very shy in the wild state, so that only 

 very feeble glimpses can be obtained of it while it 

 hurriedly escapes from one wood to another. There 

 is every reason to believe that it feeds upon rats, mice, 

 snakes, and lizards ; but the stomachs of those ex- 

 amples obtained by Dr. Smith, who originally described 

 the species, contained the remains of insects only. 

 In the catalogue of Mammalia preserved in the British 

 Museum, this species is denominated Smith's ichneu- 

 mon or Herpestes Smithii. 



THE STJRICATE OR ZENIC (R/iyzcrm tetradactyla) 

 is also a native of southern Africa, and is rather 

 smaller than the Indian moongus, being about four 

 feet long, including the tail, wdiich is rather more than 

 half the length of the body. The suricate possesses 

 thirty-six teeth, twenty being molars, of which the 

 anterior twelve are spurious. The four true grinders 

 of the upper series and the two ultimate ones below 

 are tuberoulated. The orbital cavity is surrounded by 

 a complete osseous ring. The ears are small, the 

 muzzle much produced, the tongue being furnished 

 with horny papilliE. The limbs are comparatively 

 long, terminating in tetradaotylous feet, whose digits 

 are armed with strongly-developed, compressed, in- 

 curved claws. The tail is slender and pointed, and 

 tlie anal region is supplied with the usual pair of 

 glandular follicles. The fur of the zenic very closely 

 resembles that of the ichneumon in respect of its 



annulations and peculiar tinting. The colour is a 

 mixture of yellow, white, brown, and black. The 

 inner sides of the legs are yellowish-brown, and the 

 hairs on the back are also darker, while the tail is 

 marked with blackish tufts, especially at the tip. 

 The habits of the suricate are similar to those of its 

 congeners, feeding, as it does, upon rats, mice, &c. 

 It is also reported to be exceedingly destructive to 

 cockroaches. 



THE MANGUE [Crossarchus ohscurus). — This ani- 

 mal was first described by 1\I. Friedrick Cuvier. It is 

 an inhabitant of the district of Sierra Leone, on the 

 west coast of Africa. In respect of size and general 

 appearance it resembles the suricate. The bead is 

 more rounded posteriorly than in the ichneumons; 

 but the bony orbital ring is incomplete behind. The 

 muzzle is very much produced or proboscidiform ; and 

 the jaws are furnished with twenty molars, the lani- 

 aries or carnassials being surmounted with acute 

 conical tubercles. The ears are small, round, and 

 bilobulated. The central papilte of the tongue are 

 horny. The feet are plantigrade and pentadactylous, 

 while the tail is flattened, of moderate length, but con- 

 siderably thicker than that of the suricate. In the 

 anal region there is a solitary glandular pouch. The 

 body is only sixteen inches in length, not including the 

 tail, which measures some eight inches. The fur pre- 

 sents a tolerably uniform brownish colour, except on 

 the sides of the head, where it is much paler. The 

 mangue feeds on small quadrupeds, insects, and fruits ; 

 and in tlie domesticated state it is a cleanly docile 

 creature. 



THE POUGONNE {Paradoxm-us typus). — As this 

 animal, in common with several of its allies, is called 

 the musang, we purposely retain the subjoined dis- 

 tinctive title. The term Paradoxure, by wdiich it is 



■^\ 



likewise well known, is also applicable to other species 

 of the same genus ; while to employ the name of palm- 

 marten given to it by the French, would involve the 

 same uncertainty, being open to precisely similar 

 ob,ections. The Pougonne (tig. 27), is a native of 

 India, and is quite distinct from the genets, with which, 



The Pougonne (Parado,xurus typus). 



however, it has been frequently confounded. The 

 head exhibits a thoroughly canine aspect, and the 

 muzzle is much pointed. The jaws are supplied with 

 forty teeth, twenty-four of them being molars. The 

 pupil of the eye is slit longitudinally, the ears being 

 rather large and rounded. The body is stnutisli, and 



