84 MR. O. THOMAS ON THE [Jail. 3, 



This species may be readily distinguished from all its allies by its 

 bushy white-tipped tail and its peculiar greyish yellow colour. I 

 can find no tangible specific differences between the various forms 

 which have been described as distinct species. C. leptura. Smith, 

 judging from his figure, appears to be slightly different from the rest ; 

 but the typical skull, in the British Museum, shows no characters 

 whatever by which to separate that form from the rest ; moreover 

 there is in the Leydeu Museum a specimen, in other respects quite 

 the same as C penicillata, which has as slender a tail as C leptura. 

 I therefore do not think that the latter can stand as a species 

 distinct from C. penicillata. 



Dr. Smith, in the letterpress to his figure of C. ogilbyi in his 

 ' Illustrations,' gives a full account, too long to quote here, of the 

 habits of this species. It is said to inhabit dry and sandy plains, 

 where it lives in holes in the ground, to which, however, it only 

 retires during the night, passing the day in hunting for mice, small 

 birds, &c., or simply basking in the sun. 



Teeth q/Cynictis. 



P.M^. M^. Percentages. 



a 8-1 5-1 63 



b ..7.5 5-0 66 



c 89 5-3 59 



* 8-0 4-6 57 



V. RhINOGALE. rp 



Rhinogale, Gray, P. Z. S. 1864, p. 375 (woodcuts of 

 skull) H- melleri. 



Range. That of the only species. 



Toes 5—5. Teeth, I. f. C. \, P.M. |, M. | x 2=42. No naked 

 line from nose to upper lip. General form of skull rounded, without 

 marked angles or crests. Palate deeply concave both transversely 

 and antero-posteriorly. Teeth rounded, suited for grinding rather 

 than cutting. Last molars above and below proportionally very 

 large, the lower one as long as the first molar, and very possibly 

 with an extra external cusp ; but the teeth are too much worn in 

 the only known specimen for this point to be made out. Lower jaw 

 rather peculiarly twisted {cf. original figures). 



This genus is a somewhat remarkable one, having the general 

 external form of the true grooved-nosed Herpestiues, while it has the 

 hairy nose and the generally rounded skull and dentition of the 

 present section of the group. It is, moreover, quite peculiar among 

 the genera of this group in possessing a distinctly concave palate, a 

 character which readily separates it from all other Mungooses. I am 

 not prepared to say at present to which of the other genera Bhinogale 

 is most nearly allied, as it presents such a mixture of characters that 

 without further material a satisfactory decision on this point is ex- 

 tremely difficult to arrive at. However, it naturally falls into this 

 place by the characters used to arrange the other genera ; so that we 



