VIVERRA GENETTA. 65 



grey, sometimes yellowish white, or with a brown line along 

 the back and over the shoulders. The fur is valuable. 



Feeds on rats, hares, birds, &c. Burrows very deeply 

 in the ground. Swims well. 



Length about 2 feet; stands about 1 foot to top of 

 shoulder. 



Inhabits the shores of the Icy Sea, Iceland, and Spitz - 

 bergen. It abounds in the more Alpine regions of Norway 

 and Sweden, and is sometimes met with in the very south 

 of the latter country. Is found in the North of Russia. 



Genus VIVERRA. CIVET. 



Teeth. — Incisors, ^ ; canines, ~^j ; molars, -|^ ; two 

 tubercular grinders in the upper jaw, and one very large 

 in the lower. Tongue rough ; claws five, semi-retractile ; 

 nose dilated at its end ; head long ; body prolonged, low on 

 the legs, provided with a pouch under the tail more or less 

 deep, and in some species containing an odorous substance. 



Subgenus Genetta (Cuvier). Pouch rudimentary, being 

 merely a hollow. 



Viverra Genetta. 



Viverra Genetta, Desm. Mamm. Sp. 314. 

 La Genette de France, Buffon. 



Description. — Legs short ; the large glands under the tail 

 secreting musky matter ; ears elliptic, with a small lobe on 

 the outer side, as in dogs and cats. Fur grey, marked 

 with small black spots, some round, others long ; tail with 

 ten or eleven rings of a brown or black colour ; round the 

 muzzle and behind the nostrils black ; end of the upper 

 lip white ; a white spot below the eye ; inside of the ears 

 whitish. Young animals have a violet tint on the body. 



