10. HELICIIS. 141 



Tribe V. HELICTIDINA. 



Flesh-tooth trigonal, with a broad internal lobe with two conical 

 tubercles. Tail cylindrical. 



Helictidina, Gray, P. Z. S. 1865, p. 162. 



10. HELICTIS. 

 Head tapering ; nose acute, conical ; muzzle bald, obliquely trun- 

 cated ; underside hairy, with a central groove ; nostrils inferior ; ears 

 ovate. Body slender ; legs short ;• toes 5.5; front claws elongate, 

 curved ; hinder short and acute ; sole of hind foot hairy behind, 

 bald in front, and rhombic, for half the length of the foot, with three 

 large oblong pads on the front and three small ones on the hinder 

 edge ; toes elongate ; thnmb short, far back, like Herpestes. Tail 

 moderate, subcylindrical. Teeth 38 ; premolars f . | ; grinders f 

 (see Hodgson, J. A. S. B. t. 31. f. 6). 



Helictis, Oray, Proc. Zool. Soe. ii. p. 94, 1833 ; 1865, p. 152. 

 Melogale, I. Geoff. ; GtiSrin, Mag. Zool. v. p. 1, t. 16, 1885. 

 Rhinogale, Ghger, 1842. 

 Mydaus, sp., Temm. 8f Muller. 

 Galictis, Wiegmann, 



The external appearance of the species of this genus is very similar ; 

 and there appears to be an indication of the differences in colour 

 passing into one another. 



The skulls are very distinct. 1. The skull short and ventricose ; 

 nose short, thick ; the hinder part of the palate flat, with a broad 

 opening, as wide as long on the sides, the front edge arched. H. 

 orientalis. 2. SkuU elongate ; the nose produced, attenuated ; the 

 hinder part of the palate concave, and contracted behind the aper- 

 ture ; longer than wide ; the front edge arched. H. moschata and 

 M. nipalensis. 



The teeth and size of the aperture in front of the orbits also differ 

 thus in the different species : — 1. The flesh-tooth large, with three 

 lobes on the outer edge, the front one small, with two acute tuber- 

 cles on the broad inner lobes ; the aperture in front of the orbits 

 moderate, ff. orientalis and II. nipalensis. 2. The flesh-tooth 

 small, shaped like those of the other species, but rather more 

 slender ; the aperture under the front of the orbits very large. 

 H. moschata. 



* Flesh-tooth large ; aperture in front of orhUs moderate. 

 Melogale. 



Melogale, Gray, P. Z. S. 1865, p. 152. 



1. Helictis orientalis. (Nyentek.) B.M. 



Brown, paler beneath; cheeks, upper lip, chin, throat, sides of 



neck, chest, three spots across forehead, and a narrow streak from 



