1882.] PROF. ST.-GEORGE MIVART ON THE .ELUROIDEA. 145 



internal portion of the superior lateral gyrus, which is behind 

 the cranial sulcus, by any continuation forwards of the cal- 

 loso-margiual sulcus to join the crucial sulcus. 



(29) Angle of mandible not greatly flattened beneath, and coronoid 



process high and inclined backwards. 



(30) Proportional length of limbs considerable. 



(31) Muzzle short compared with cranial length. 



(32) Dentition extremely sectorial. 



(33) Tail long, moderate, or extremely short. 



(34) Clitoris never traversed by urogenital canal. 



(35) Dorsal vertebrae thirteen. 



(36) Postorbital processes more or less strongly developed, some- 



times enclosing orbits by a bony circle. 



(37) Paroccipital processes not depending, or else only slightly- 

 projecting, as a rough tubercle beyond the bulla. 



(38) Mastoid rather prominent. 



(39) No carotid foramen perforates or notches the sphenoid. 



(40) Nose and upper lip medianly grooved. 



(41) Palate very little or but moderately produced beyond last 

 molars. 



(42) Pterygoid fossa very small. 



(43) Size of species generally moderate, never very small, some- 

 times very large — the largest of the iEluroidea. 



Of the genera of existing Felidce, Cyncelurus is distinguished from 

 Felis by its imperfectly retractile claws and the rudimentary con- 

 dition of the internal cusp of -^. The characters of the ViverridcB 

 and Hyanidce will be given after a brief review of the genera com- 

 posing those two families. 



The typical genus Viverra seems to include four species — (1) V. 

 civetta (from Fernando Po, Sierra Leone, and Abyssinia), (2) V. 

 zibet ha (from India, China, and Penang), F. tangalunga (from 

 Malacca, Borneo, Sumatra, Luzon, and the Negros and Philippine 

 Islands), and V. megaspila (from Malacca, Saigon, and Lower 

 Cochin China). 



The anatomy of this anciently-known genus has been described ^ 

 by Perrault in a paper entitled " Description anatomique de deux 

 Civettes," in the ' Memoirs ' of the Academy of Sciences of Paris, 

 vol. iii. (1611-1699), with two plates reproduced in a work published 

 by Pierre Mortier, of Amsterdam, in 1/36, and entitled ' Memoires 

 pour servir a I'histoire uaturelle des Animaux et des Plantes.' 

 Therein is given a tolerable figure of the external form of the Civet, 

 and representations of the scent-pouch and glands of both sexes, 



^ See also Castellus, 'Hyana odorifera, vulgo Civctia,' Messouae, 1638 ; Bar- 

 tholin, " Anatome CivettiE s. Hyance odorifera," in Hist. Auat. Cent. iv. 1657, 

 pp. 199-213 ; Mery (Jean), " Observations sur les canaux lactiferes de la 

 Civette,"' in Mem. Acad. Sc. de Paris, 1666-1699 ; Morand, " 'Nouvelles obser- 

 vations sur le sac et le parfum de la Civette " (with a plate), M(5m. Acad. Sc. 

 de Paris, 1728 ; and De la Peyronie, " Description d"un animal connu sous le 

 nom de Muse ( Viverra)" with four plates, Mem. Acad. Sc. de Paris, 1731, 

 pp. 443-464. 



Proc. Zool. Soc— 1882, No. X. 10 



