150 PROF. ST.-GEORGE MIVART ON THE ^LUROIDEA. [Feb. 7, 



British Museum a light-yellow skin from Candy, and one from 

 Nepal, which is but little darker. Generally the ground-colour is 

 greyish, brownish, or yellowish, and there is a tendency to the 

 development of black bands on the middle of the back and loins, 

 black spots on the flanks, and rings on the tail. The young are very 

 dark, but not so mucli so as are the young Civets, and they also 

 want the white markings of the latter. The scent-glaud is 

 formed as in Viverra. Length of head and body about 61", of 

 tail aljout 38". 



The genus ViverricuJa agrees, then, with the genus Viverra in all 

 the characters before enumerated, except numbers 16, 24, 36, 38, 

 39, 40, and 41. 



The genus Fossa is represented in the national collection by 

 four skins, two skulls, and a skeleton. The genus was instituted by 

 Dr. Gray ' on the strength of Daubenton's description ; and though 

 it seems nearly aUied to the Rasse, its generic distinctness should, 

 I think, be maintained, at least till its anatomy is more fully known, 

 especially that of its glandular structures. I could not find evidence 

 of a scent-pouch in the British-Museum skins. Neither could 

 Daubenton in his specimen ; and M. Poivre (who sent Buffon the 

 stuffed skin described in his work) wrote on the subject as follows : — 

 " La Fossane que j'ai apportee de Madagascar, est un animal qui a les 

 moeurs de notre fouine ; les habitans de I'ile m'ont assure que la 

 fossane male etant en chaleur, ses parties avoient une forte odeur 

 de muse. Lorsque j'ai fait empaille celle qui est au Jardin du Roi, 

 je I'examinai attentivement, je n'y de'couvris aucune poche, et je 

 ne lui trouvai aucune odeur deparfum." Not improbably there are 

 some subcutaneous scent-glands, but no pouch or even deep cuta- 

 neous fold in connexion with them. 



The limbs are slender ; and there are the very small bald places 

 (to which Mr. Oldfield Thomas was kind enough to call my attention) 

 beneath the hind foot. One of these is a little above the plantar 

 pad, very near the small hallux (the claw of which may be wanting 

 in the adult), and the other beneath the distal part of the tarsus, 

 shghtly nearer to the peroneal margin of the limb. Another note- 

 worthy character is the absence of any median dark mark on the 

 back. The adult may be very little striped or spotted, with only 

 some spots on the flanks and some obscure stripes on the shoulders ; 

 but the young is very distinctly striped ; yet even in the young 

 there is no median dorsal stripe, but the central portion of the back 

 is of the general ground-colour, bounded by two rows of small 

 irregular spots, external to which are three strongly marked longi- 

 tudinal stripes on each side. The black throat-bands (which exist 

 in Viverra) are entirely absent. The tail is spotted, the spots 

 tending to form, but not actually forming, rings. 



The length of the head and body is about 43"*2, that of the tail 

 20"-3. 



The Fossa is only known as an inhabitant of Madagascar. Its 

 external form is figured, and the animal is described, in Buffon, vol. 



' P. Z. S. 18G4, p. 518. 



