28 P1UMATES, CARNIVORES AND UNGULATES 



35a.* Herpestes auropunctatus birmanicus, Thomas. 



The Little Burmese Mongoose. Thomas, A. M. N. H. 

 Ser. 5, XVII, p. 84, (1886). Blanford, p. 122. 



Dark brown, finely speckled throughout with huffy or 

 whitish grey, very little paler below : feet darker ; head and 

 cheeks tinged ferruginous. Base of fur dark brown: the long 

 hairs of back annulated dark and light, two or three rings of each. 

 Naked portion of soles not extending to heel. Head and body 

 about II inches long, tail without hairs 10 inches. Hind-foot 

 without claws 2.25 inches. 



Two small mounted specimens of Mongooses in the Perak 

 Museum, recorded as coming from the vicinity of Taiping, 

 appear referable to this species and I have therefore included 

 it locally though I have not been able to examine skulls. It 

 also occurs in Burmah, and probably replaces H. auropunctatus, 

 Hodgson, to the eastward of the Bay of Bengal foi" though a 

 single example of the latter was obtained by Cantor in the 

 Malay Peninsula it was almost certainly introduced. 



36. Herpestes BRACHYURUS, Gray. The Short-tailed 

 Mongoose. Anderson, Zool. Researches, p. 187. 



General colour blackish-brown speckled with yellow espe- 

 cially on the fore body and shoulders. Head paler ; face, sides 

 and top of muzzle pale yellowish brown, cheeks similar but 

 grizzled. Chin and throat rusty yellowish brown. Fore limbs 

 and lower half of hind limbs dark brown, unspeckled. Hairs 

 of tail broadly tipped with black which almost obscure the pale 

 speckle. Only half of the soles naked. Head and body about 

 18 inches, tail without hairs about 8 inches. 



Southern half of the Peninsula where it is the commonest 

 mongoose. 



37.* Herpestes javanicus (Geoffr.) The Javan Mongoose. 

 Bonhote P. Z. S. 1900, p. 873. Anderson, Zool. 

 Researches, p. 186. 



General colour speckled rufous olive-brown, dark on back, 

 darker still and more rufous on the upper head and cheeks 



Jour. Straits Branch 



