528 CARNIVORA 
that its right to generic distinction seems doubtful. There is, 
however, no scent-pouch. The limbs are slender; and there are 
two small bare spots on the sole of the hind foot, above the 
plantar pads. There is no dark line along the back; the throat 
gorget of Viverra is absent; and in the tail the spots only tend to 
form rings, which are not complete. The skull has an alisphenoid 
canal, and a large bulla as in the typical group of Viverra. 
Genetta..—The Genettes are smaller animals, with more elon- 
gated and slender bodies, and shorter limbs than the Civets. Skull 
elongated and narrow. Auditory bulla large, elongated, rounded 
Fic. 233.—The Common Genet (Genetta vulgaris). 
at both ends. Teeth compressed and sharp pointed. The inner 
side of the third upper premolar has a tubercle not present in the 
previous genus, and the talon of the lower carnassial is larger. 
Pupil contracting to a linear aperture. Tail long, slender. Fur short 
and soft, spotted or cloudy. Under side of the tarso-metatarsus 
with a narrow longitudinal bald streak. No pouch for storing the 
secretion of the scent-gland. G. vulgaris, the common Genet 
(Fig. 233), is found in France south of the river Loire, Spain, 
South-Western Asia, and Africa from Barbary to the Cape. 
G. felina, senegalensis, tigrina, and pardalis are other named species, 
all African in habitat. 
A few details (taken from Professor Mivart’s memoirs on the 
* Cuvier, Régne-Animal, vol. i. p. 156 (1817). 
