18 



UNITED STATES AND MEXICAN BODNDARY. 



rnarg 



15. BASSAPJS ASTUTA, Licht. (p. 147.)— Civet Cat, 



Sp. Ch. — About the eize of the house cat. Above brownieh yellow, mixed with grey; beneath, whitish. Tail white, with 

 seven or eight brownish black rings. 



Size about that of the domestic cat^ hut rather more slender. Whiskers long^ extending hack 

 further than the ears. Ears naked externally, except near the 

 haired. 



The general color of the upper parts is a dull hrownish yellow, with pale hairs interspersed- 

 This tint is, however, much relieved throughout by long black hairs, sometimes imparting quite 

 a dusky hue. The under parts generally are of a yellowish white, with, however, a brownish 

 suffusion along the lower part of the flanks. The tips and edges of the ears, a spot above and 

 below the eye and the upper lip are also yellowish white. The fur is all dull plumbeous at 

 the base and paler at the tip, as described. Of the longer hairs interspersed, some are entirely 

 black throughout, others black only at the tip, the basal portion being paler than the ground 

 color, and producing the effect already referred to. The whiskers are black and white mixed. 

 The basal inner surface of the ears is coated with dusky hair. 



The tail may be described as dull white, with seven or eight rings of brownish black and a 

 black tip. These rings are interrupted on the lower side for about one-fourth, so that the 

 central portion of the under surface of the tail is white. The black and white hairs are of uni- 

 form tint to their bases, so that one color overlaps the other. These rings become wider and 

 wider from the base to the tip, preserving, however, the same relative proportion of length 

 throughout. Towards the base of the tail the black rings exhibit a considerable mixture of 

 dull yellowish brown, caused by annuli of this color on the hairs near the tip. 



A specimen of this species, collected by Captain Marcy^ on Red river, in July, 1852, is much 

 purer in its tints, the tail being clear black and white throughout, without any mixture of yel- 

 lowish brown. The ground color of back and sides exhibits a considerable admixture of greyish 

 asli, especially about the face and shoulders. The black hairs, too, seem concentrated along the 

 middle of the back, forming quite a distinct longitudinal band from the nose to the tail. 



Measurements. 



133. 



Inches. Lines. 



Kose to root of tail I 17 



Tail from root to end of vertebrae 



Tail from root to end of hairs 



Ears, height above notch 

 Ears, width 



Arm, fore foot to end of claws 



Leg, hind foot from heel to end of claws 

 Skull, length 



Skull, width 



16 

 18 

 1 

 1 

 1 

 3 



2.02 



6 



5 



7 

 7 



Inches. 



16 



15 



17 



1 



1 



1 



3.20 



1. 



4. 



Lines. 



6 

 5 

 3 



6 

 6 



7 



lOOthsof 

 length. 



« • 



100 

 .59 



Inches. 



17 



16 



18 



1 



1 



1 



?97 



Lines. 



3.26 

 2.04 



lOOths of 

 length. 



5 



4 

 6 



100 

 .63 



