1900.] MAMMALS OP SIAM AND THE MALAY PENINSULA. 327 



twisted or knotted tail, or else a mere bob. In Johore I bave 

 seen a very remarkably coloured variety of cat, somewhat like the 

 English " tortoise-shell," but the different colours arranged more 

 in spots than in blotches. The " Siamese " cat is fairly common 

 in Siam, and not " reserved for royalty " (Lydekker, Royal Nat. 

 Hist. i. p. 429, line 7). In Bangkok and the Straits Settlements 

 it is not so much prized as a domestic pet as is the somewhat 

 similar, but darker colom-ed, " Laos " cat from Northern Siam. 

 In this region as elsewhere cats " frequently relapse from a state 

 of domestication, resort to the jungle, and shun the presence of 

 man " (Cantor, p. 38). 



Family Viveerid^. 



Subfamily Viveemn.e. 



26. Vivebba zibetha L. The Large Indian Civet. 

 Viverra zibetha, Blanf. Faun. Ind., Mamm. p. 96. 



" Tanggallong " of the Malays of the Peninsula (according to 

 Cantor). 



" Musang jebat " of the Malays of Perak (according to 

 L. Wray). 



Cantor (p. 27) records this species from Penang, Singapore, and 

 the Peninsula, and considers it to be " far less numerous than 

 the following" (i. e. V. megaspila). In the Museum at Taiping 

 there are many specimens from Larut, Perak. In the Museum at 

 Kuala Lumpor there are two civets from Selangor which I referred 

 to this species, but Mr. A. L. Butler tells me he thinks they are 

 V. megaspila. 



Ridley (Nat. Science, vol. vi. 1895, p. 93) says: "The larger 

 civets V. zibetha and V. tangalunga, the ' Musang jebat,' do not, 

 I believe, occur wild in Singapore, but are common in the 

 Peninsida, and are often trapped and brought for sale. They are 

 never at all docile, and seldom live long in captivity." 



Distribution. Bengal, Assam, Burma, Southern China, Siam, 

 Malay Peninsula. 



27. Vivebba megaspila Blyth. The Burmese Civet. 



Viverra tangalunga, Cantor, p. 27. 



Viverra megaspila, Blanf. Faun. Ind., Mamm. p. 99. 



" Musang jebat " of the Malays. 



Cantor records this species from Penang, Singapore, and the 

 Peninsula, and says it is " exceedingly numerous." In the Museum 

 at Taiping there are many specimens from Larut, Perak. In a 

 deserted bungalow at Dumdruan, Gunong Pulai, Johore, I found 

 a akin of this civet. The skin measured : — Head and body 29 in. 

 (or 737 mm.) ; tail 11 1 in. (or 292 mm.). 



Distribution. Burma, Cochincbina, Malay Peninsula, Sumatra. 



22* 



