PAEADOXUUUS MUSASGA. 125 



uttered any sort of sound. He further states that, " the sharpness of 

 the coronal process of the molar teeth seems to indicate that the animal is 

 somewhat insectivorous, which I hear is actually the fact." 



Gen. Pabadoxtjrus, F. Cuvier. 



Char. — tMoIar teeth ~ — - as in Vivara ; flesh- tooth, especially the 



lower one, thick, with conical tubercles ; all feet with five toes connected 

 by a web, the thumb not raised ; sole of the feet bald, tuberculous ; claws 

 semi-retractile ; tail very long, cylindrical. 



The tree-cats are stouter in form than the Genets, with which they have 

 been confounded, and more uniform in their coloration; their gait is 

 plantigrade. Their pupil is elliptic, and they are quite nocturnal in their 

 habits. Their dentition is very similar to that of dogs, but the cere- 

 bral cavity is proportionally smaller. The bony orbit is not closed. There 

 is a glandular fold in some between the anus and genitals, secreting a 

 peculiar matter, without the odour of civet or musk ;• but not a distinct 

 pouch. They are chiefly inhabitants of the Indian region, and a con- 

 aderable number of species have been lately made known. They climb 

 trees remarkably well, and roost during the day either on trees or on the 

 roofs of houses, among the rafters. There diet is of a mixed character. 



The character of the tail from which the generic name was derived is 

 shown by BJyth to have been the result of some deformity, and not to be 

 a normal state. It can be rolled up, but is not prehensile. 



This genus is linked to Prionodon by a Malayan species, P ? derhyanus, 

 Gray, of which Cantor remarks, "the serrated false molars, the soles 

 hairy under the toes, the somewhat remote thumb, are characters by which 

 this animal differs from Paradoxurus, and forms a link between that genus 

 and Priomdon.^' It has indeed been made the type of a distinct genus, 

 Hemigaka, by Jonrdain. 



123. Paradoxurus musanga. 



Vivirra apnd Mahsden. — Blyth, Cat. 148.— Pigd. F. Cuvier, Mamm. 

 2, pi. 55.— P. typus, F. Cuvier.— Elliot, Cat. 23.— P. Pallasii, P. 

 musangoides, P. crossti, and P. dubius, Gray.— P. prehensilis, and Viverm 



* Cantor. Cat. Mamm., Malay. 



