1864.] DR. J. E. GRAY ON THE VIVERRID&. 503 
of Asia. Some species of the genera, as here revised, come from 
Africa, and others trom Asia; but I do not know of any species 
but Viverricula malaccensis which is common to the two sections of 
the Old World. 
The essential character of the Viverride is to have two tubercular 
grinders on each side of the upper jaw, and one on each side of the 
lower. In the genera Linsang and Poiana the hinder upper tubercular 
grinder is absent, and the teeth agree in number with those of the 
genus Felis; but the shape of the skull and teeth show that they 
belong to this family. In Crossarchus and Suricata the lower hinder 
grinder is absent ; and in some species of the genera, where these teeth 
are present, they are often reduced to a very small size. There 
are generally three false grinders before the flesh-tooth ; but in some 
genera the front one, which is often very small, is entirely wanting, 
or sometimes falls out early. 
Mr. Waterhouse, in the ‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Scciety ’ 
for 1839, in a paper ‘‘ On the Dentition of Carnivora,” observes, 
“The Viverride have the same form of skull as the Canide, but 
differ in having the posterior portion more produced ; the long palate 
is carried farther back, and the small back molar, observable in the 
lower jaw of the Dog, is here wanting. They have, therefore, 
but one true molar on either side of the lower jaw, and two true mo- 
lars on each side of the upper jaw.’ The form of the palate here 
relied on is not found in all the genera of the family, and sometimes 
varies in genera which are very nearly allied both in external cha- 
racters and dentition. 
The Hyzena, Mr, Waterhouse was inclined to regard as an aber- 
rant form of Viverridee. Its carnassier has a large inner lobe, and 
in this respect also resembles the Viverra’s, and not the Cat’s. 
(See also some observations by me on the change of the teeth, &c., 
in some of the genera, in a paper in the ‘ Proceedings of the Zoolo- 
gical Society’ for 1832, pp. 32, 62.) 
There can be no doubt that the skull affords very important cha- 
racters, especially for the division of the species into groups or genera, 
and also for the distinction of the species; but no one can examine 
an extensive series of skulls, even of animals obtained from the same 
locality, without being struck with the variation the skull presents 
during the growth and age of the animal, and also the variation which 
the specimens of the same age present, showing that the skull and 
the teeth are quite as liable to vary in form in each species (within 
certain limits, these limits being different in the various species) 
as any other part of the animal ; so that a species cannot be said 
to be firmly established until the external form, the bones, and the 
habit of the species have been carefully studied, distinctly showing 
that the labours of the palzeontologist in a zoological point of view 
are very unsatisfactory, from the necessary want of material for form- 
ing a reliable determination of species. 
The late Mr. Turner made some very interesting observations 
on the base of the crania of the Carnivora, with a new distribution of 
the genera (see Proc. Zool. Soc. 1848, p.63). It is to be regretted 
