70 MR. O. THOMAS ON THE [Jan. 3, 



Var. gracilis. Length. Breadth. length, breadth. 



a. AhjssmisL(Bla)iford) 2-54 1-34 1-32 0-81 



5. Natal (type of ^. 1 1-30 1.3I 0-81 0-90 - 



punctulatus) . . . . j 



Var. melanurus. 



'■^z>";%t'°"' ^^'''''^}^'-' '■^- ^""^^ ^'^^ °'^^ ~ 



Var. hadius. 



rf.MgundaMkali(type|2.45 1.22 1-25 0-82 0-85 - 



01 U. granti) .... J 



e. S. Africa 2-.') 1-2/ 1-29 0-80 0-8.^ 0-96 



Var. ochraceus. 



/. Abyssinia (ffom),l ^.^ ,<,q ^.jq .? 

 imtn J ■"' 



0-78 — 



This variable species appears to be the common small Mungoose 

 of the whole of Africa. The distribution of its three principal 

 varieties is somewhat interesting as so closely corresponding to the 

 zoological subregions of x\iri(^a, as defined by Mr. Wallace in his 

 'Geographical Distribution of Animals' \ Thus, the true H. gracilis 

 is found from Cape Verd and Senegal across to Abyssinia and south- 

 wards to Natal, a range nearly exactly agreeing with the " East- 

 African " subregion. I have seen no specimens of this species from 

 Angola or Damaraland, so that I cannot say what, if any, form is 

 found there ; but, according to Mr. Wallace, we should also expect 

 to find the true H. (/racilis in that district. Again, the varieties 

 melanurus and badius occur, the first all over the " West-," and the 

 latter over the "South-African" subregions. It is true that speci- 

 mens belonging to the true H. gracilis are sometimes, though rarely, 

 found in both the other subregions, and H. badius occurs as far 

 north as Zanzibar in the East-African subregion ; but these facts 

 only show the necessity for regarding the various forms as varieties, 

 and not as species, which they might fairly be considered to be if 

 each was strictly confined to its own district. 



It will be seen by the above synonymy that the variability in 

 colour of H, gracilis has caused the formation of a considerable 

 number of untenable species. The asterisks prefixed to the names 

 show that I have seen typical specimens of the greater part of these 

 so-called species ; and I do not think there can be much doubt in 

 the case of any of them. In my opinion, H. mutgigella, which at 

 first sight seems so different from the rest, represents simply the 

 uuannulated form of H. gracilis, an intermediate state being repre- 

 sented by a typical specimen of II. iodoprymmis, Heugl., in the 

 Leyden Museum. Of the other names, I am not cpiite certain 

 whether H. adailensis, Heugl., should not rather be placed under 



' Vol. i, p. 258, and map, p. 2o0 (1876). 



