1882.] AFRICAN MUNGOOSES. 89 



British Museum ; but no others, so far as I am aware, have since 

 been obtained. 



3. Crossarchus zebra. 



*Herpestes zebra, Riipp. N. Wirb. Abyss, p. 30, pi. ix. fig. 2 

 (animal), and pi. x. fig. 1 (skull) (1835). 



H. gothneh, Fitz. & Heugl. S.B. Akad. Wien, liv. Abth. 1, p. 560 

 (1866). 



H. leucostethicus, Fitz. & Heugl. t. cit. p. 561 (1861). 



Hab. Abyssinia. 



Size rather smaller than in the last species, and form slenderer. 

 Tail half as long as the head and body. General colour grizzled 

 grey, with cross bands on the posterior part of the back. Longer 

 hairs ringed with black and pale yellow or white, without anv 

 rufous, the rings very narrow, so that the transverse bands are 

 correspondingly narrow, five or more to the inch. Underfur dirty 

 yellowish grey. Chin, chest, and belly more or less bright rufous, 

 a sharp line along the sides of the neck separating the rufous from 

 the grey of the upperside. Central line of the underparts gene- 

 rally white, this colour varying in quantity very much, sometimes 

 extending all down the centre from chin to anus, sometimes nearly 

 or quite absent. Tail-hairs ringed like those of the body, the black 

 gradually predominating towards the tip, which is often quite black. 

 Feet, in the same way, becoming blacker to the toes. 



Skull as in C. gambianus. Teeth rather small, P.M^ between 

 6 and 7 mm. long. Dental percentages 66-79. 



Dimensions. 



Head and body. Tail. Hind foot. 



a. hhys%\m?i {Ruppell) 13'5 7'0 2*3 



b. „ (skin) 13-0 6-6 — 



Skulls. -, . 



Palate- Palate- Inc. to cranial 

 Length. Breadth. length, breadth, cross line. axis. 



a. No locality .. 275 1-59 1-46 95 94 -97 



b. „ ..2-7 1-5 1-43 -88 -89 -95 



c. Bogos, Abys- 



sinia' 2-42 1-35 1-26 79 -80 "89 



This species has hitherto been found only in Abyssinia, where 

 Riippell and others have obtained it in considerable numbers. It 

 may readily be distinguished from the other striped Mungoose, 

 C.fasciatus, by the narrowness and whiteness of the cross bands, 

 and by the sharply defined rufous of its neck and chest. 



I can see no reason for the separation of either H. gothneh or 

 leucostethicus from the typical form, the characters given being quite 

 unimportant. 



It has already been mentioned that one of our skulls of this 

 ' With third upper molars. 



