MAMMAL SURVEY OF INDIA, BURMA AND CEYLON. 471 



OuoN RUTiiANs, Muell. 

 The Malay Wild Dog. 



1839. Canis rutila'ns, S. Mueller, Verhandl. Zool., p. 27. 

 1888. Cyon rutilans, Blanford, Mammalia, No. 71. 

 Tqe $1- Mt. Popa. 



" This specimen, which had only 10 mammse, was run down and killed 

 by a village dog, a thing most unlikely to occur with its larger Indian 

 congener, although adult, it only weighed 19 lbs. This species hunts in 

 packs like dukhunensis, but, owing to its small size, is much less destructive 

 to large game, its ordinary prey is probably Barking Deer, Goats, Hares or 

 ' other comparatively small animals ". — G.O.S. 



Vernacular names — Taw-khwe (Burmese), Manai (Shan). 

 Helictis personata, Is. Geoff. 

 The Burmese Ferret Badger. 



1834. Melogale personata, Geoffry, Bel. Voy. Zool., p. 137. 



1888. Helictis personata, Blanford, Mammalia, No. 88 {partim). 

 c? 1, 2 3. Mt. Popa. 

 Skull 1. Legyi, Sagaing. (Collected by Major F. C. Owens.) 



The ' Ferret Badger ' is a very expressive name for this animal. It is 

 coloured uniformly brown but for the characteristic white markings on the 

 face, and a line from the forehead to the middle of the back. The terminal 

 portion of the tail is also white. 



Blanford recognises only two species, viz., orientalis, described from Java, 

 and the present species, which Geoffry described from " the neighbour- 

 hood of Rangoon, in Pegu. " Bonhote however who studied the genus in 

 1903 came to the conclusion (A. M. N. H., XII., p. 593) that there are two 

 well marked groups in the Genus characterised by the size of the teeth, 

 viz., the large toothed western forms and the small toothed forms from 

 Borneo, Formosa and China. In the first group he puts four species, viz., 

 nipalensis from India, personata from Pegu, orientalis from Java and pierrei 

 from Cochin China. 



" Apparently widely distributed in the dry belt but nowhere plentiful. 

 A ferret-badger is known to occur around Maymyo, one having been killed 

 there by hounds. Two of the specimens, although nearly full grown, were 

 found in the same burrow with an old female which was still suckling them. 

 Three individuals which were kept alive for a short time were not aggres- 

 sively savage, and would allow themselves to be handled, though when 

 irritated they would snap at and hang on to anything like a true badger. 

 Although in habits this animal resembles the skunks it has no offensive 

 smell of its own and apparently mimics no other animal here as its congener 

 orientalis certainly does in Java." — G.C.S. 



Vernacular name — Kyaxtng-u-ktin or Ktaung-u-gyi (Burmese). 



LuTRA MACRODXJs, Gray. 

 7'he Smooth Indian Otter, 



(Synonymy in No. 7.) 



1 (no skull) Sagaing. (Collected by Major F. C. Owens.) 



(See also Report No. 7.) 



"Otters are said to be plentiful on the Upper Irrawady and Chindwin." 

 —G.C.S. 



Vernacular names — Hpyan (Burmese), Mohn (Shan). 



