4o6 



CIVET CAT 



PmA 



M --5 . The secretion of the prescrotal gland of V civctta 

 yields the civet of commerce. 



The " Easse," genus Virerrlcida, has been separated generically 

 from the true Civets. It is, remarkably enough, common to both 

 Madagascar ^ and many parts of the Oriental region. It is, 

 moreover, capable of climbing trees, which its relatives are not. 

 It has no mane like Viverra and is of slighter build. 



Fig. 200.— Civet Cat. 



Viccrra civetta. x J. 



Prionodon or Linsan;/ differs from the last two genera in the 

 loss of an upper molar. It thus approaches the Cats, with which 

 it also agrees in the furry feet. It is a pm-ely Oriental genus. 

 It also resembles the Cats in that the claws are apparently quite 

 retractile, a feature not common among the group. There are 

 three species of the genus. P. j-Ktrdir.olor has large black spots 

 and a ringed tail. Its body is some 15 inches in length. 

 Dr. Mivart has commented upon the particularly small caecum, 

 which, like that of Arctictis, seems to be on the verge of 

 disappearance. 



Gfnetfji, including the Genets, is almost purely African. It 

 has the full tooth fnruiula of Vivtrnr ; but is to be distinguished 

 by the absence of a scent pouch, and by a naked strip of skin 

 running up the metatarsus. These animals are all brownish 

 yellowish to greyish with darker spots. The Common (leiiet, 

 G. vulgaris, is South European, and just gets into ^Vsia ; it is 

 also North African. The Genet, an animal " with an appetite 

 for petty carnage," is one of those smaller Carnivora which are 

 possibly to be regarded as meant by the word yaXtj, and appear 

 to have " functioned " as Cats among the Greeks. So recently as 



Where it has probably been introduced. 



