76 MR. 0. THOMAS ON THE (Jan. 3, 
the body without the head. Underside of tarsus thickly hairy down 
to the root of the hallux. Fur of medium length. General colour 
blackish grey, the longer hairs ringed with black and white, the ter- 
minal third nearly always black. Underfur woolly, uniform dirty grey. 
Feet black. Tail-hairs very long, in some cases with white bases and 
long shining black tips, so that the whole tail appears to be black ; 
in others with a long white tip beyond the black, so that then the 
tail appears to be white ; in the latter case the hairs at the extreme 
tip of the tail are generally wholly white. 
a, b. Last lower molars of Herpestes ichneumon. 
c, d. zs 5 H, albicauda. 
a,c. Upper view; 4, d. side view. 
Skull rather stout and heavy, the muscular ridges, however, but 
little developed. Brain-case comparatively short, not half the length 
of the whole skull. Teeth more rounded than in the members of 
the typical subgenus. Last molars, above and below, proportionally 
much larger than in Herpesées, the lower one with a well-marked 
extra external cusp between the two usual ones, so that there are five 
cusps in all (see woodcut, Fig 1, ¢, d.). Inold specimens, of course, 
this character cannot be made out, as the cusps are worn off these 
teeth at a comparatively early age. Dental percentage 71-84. 
Dimensions. 
Head 
and body. Tail. Hind foot. 
a. Type, Nubia(Berl. Mus.) 26-0 15'8 4°9 
Gs, Natal cis «Git ha, Miner, ae 24:0 150 5: 
~c. Caffraria (Leyd. Mus.).. 24:5 15°8 4°85 
e. W. Africa (type of H. 
loempo, Leyd. Mus.).... 23°0 15°8 4'5 
Skulls. Ine. to Basi- 
Palate- —_ Palate- cross cranial 
Length. Breadth, length. breadth. line. _ axis. 
a. Accras. .... + we AOR eeeIG +. 2-6 13 15 _ 
6. W. Africa (Berl. 
Cs, 4°05 2°0 2°41 eS 1'4] “= 
ec. Abyssinia ...... 3°75 1:88 2°05 |g | 1°35 1°18 
d, We Africas co... ce. 3°80 2°07 2°23 1:2 1°37 _ 
