150 PROF. ST.-GEORGE MIVART ON THE EZLUROIDEA. [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 much so as are the young Civets, and they also 
want the white markings of the latter. The scent-gland is 
formed as in Viverra. Length of head and body about 61", of 
tail about 38”. 
The genus Viverricula 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 allied 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’aiapportée de Madagascar, est un animal qui a les 
meeurs de notre fouine ; les habitans de Vile m’ont assuré que la 
fossane male étant en chaleur, ses parties avoient une forte odeur 
de muse. Lorsque j’ai fait empaillé celle qui est au Jardin du Roi, 
je Vexaminai attentivement, je n’y découvris aucune poche, et je 
ne lui trouvai aucune odeur de parfum.’ 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, 
slightly 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 
exterhal form is figured, and the animal is described, in Buffon, vol. 
1 P. Z. 8. 1864, p. 518. 
