Zoological Society. 211 



M. Isidore Geoffrey St. Hilaire, in the notes to a paper on some 

 Madagascar animals in M. Guerin's Magasin de Zoologie for 1839, 

 p. 32, informs us that the specimen above described then existed in 

 the collection, and that he had convinced himself that it was a young 

 specimen of an animal rather more than two feet long, which had 

 been sent to the Museum in 1834 by M. Goudot, under the name of 

 Vonsire blanc, and called Vontsira foutche by the Medecasses ; and he 

 gives a description and figures of the animal and its skull, t. 18, 19, 

 forming for it a genus which he names Galidictis. 



A few months ago the Museum purchased of Mr. Tucker of the 

 Quadrant an animal from Madagascar, which is evidently nearly allied 

 to the Galidictis striata, but differs from it in some particulars, which 

 induce me to regard it as a second species of that genus. I may 

 remark that it agrees with all the characters assigned to that genus 

 by M. Isidore Geoffroy, except that the soles of the hind-feet are 

 more naked than he described those of his genus Galidia to be, 

 though he observes that Galidictis has the feet "presque entierement 

 semblable" to that genus; for the naked part is nearly as broad as 

 the foot, almost to the top of the heel. The chief difference between 

 the Museum specimen and that described and figured by the two 

 Geoffroys and Cuvier is in the colour of the tail, and I might think 

 this depended on age, if the elder Geoffroy and Cuvier did not 

 describe the young animal as being of the size of a weasel, and the 

 younger Geoffroy the adult as having the same peculiarity, viz. a 

 white tail ; while our specimen has the tail the same colour as the 

 back, and even more distinctly variegated with black and white. 

 The stripes are narrower, rather differently placed, and more equal in 

 width than in the description and figure above quoted, and they do 

 not extend so far up the neck towards the head. I propose to de- 

 signate the species 



Galidictis vittata. 



Grey, black and white grizzled ; back and sides eight nearly equal, 

 parallel, narrow, black- brown streaks ; chin and beneath pale brown ; 

 hind-feet and outer sides of fore-legs reddish brown. Tail subcylin- 

 drical, bushy, black and grey grizzled, white towards the ends ; hairs 

 elongate, brownish white, with two (rarely three) broad black rings. 



Hab. Madagascar. British Museum. 



Length of body and head (when stuffed) 14 inches ; tail 12 inches. 



The skull, which shows that the animal was not quite full-grown, 

 agrees in all the particulars with that figured by M. I. Geoffroy, 

 t. 19, but is about one-fourth smaller in all its parts, and it has one 

 more very small roundish false grinder on each side in front of the 

 other (between it and the canines) in the upper jaw, which is not 

 noticed in M. Geoffroy 's figure nor description, and which probably 

 falls out when the animal arrives at adult age. 



Dr. T. R. H. Thomson, Surgeon R.N., who had one of these 

 animals for six months on board ship, says it was procured at Tulyah 

 Bay, Madagascar. It was at first extremely timid, but soon became 

 tame and acquainted with the different parts of the vessel, and very 

 partial to those who bestowed any attentions on it. It was remark- 



