384 
SURIKATE. 
Viverra Surikatta. V. grisea, naso producto mobili, ped^us tetra^ 
dactylis, caudaferruginea, apice nigro. 
Grey-brown W. with long moveable snout, four- toed feet, and 
ferruginous tail, black at the tip. 
Viverra tetradactyla. V. pedibus tetradactylis, naso producto mo- 
bili. Lin Syst, Nat. Gmel. p. 8^. 
Suricate. Buf. 13. p. J^.pl. 8. 
Viverra tetradactyla. Miller, Cimel. Phys. t. 20. 
Four- toed Weesel. Pennant Quadr. i.p. 57. 
The Surikate is distinguished by a long sharp- 
pointed nose, depressed head, and inflated cheeks : 
the upper jaw is much longer than the lower, and 
on its upper part is black : the eyes are also sur- 
rounded by black : the ears are small and round- 
ed: the tongue is oblong, blunt, and aculeated 
backwards: the length of the animal, exclusive 
of the tail, is about a foot; and of the tail about 
eight inches : the legs are short : the claws on the 
fore feet much exceed in length those of the 
hind feet. The general colour of the Surikate is 
a deep grey; the tail is subferruginous, tipped 
with black. It is an inhabitant of the Cape of 
Good Hope, where it is called Meer-rat. It feeds 
on flesh, and preys on mice, and other small ani- 
mals. It commonly sits erect in the manner of a 
Squirrel, and, when pleased, makes a rattling 
noise with its tail, for which reason the Dutch 
inhabitants of the Cape call it Klapper-maus. It 
is also found in the island of Java^ where it is 
named Surikatje by the Dutch^ on account of a 
