396* CIVET. 
remarkably tough and loose skin, with thick hair : 
this is supposed to be given it as a natural defence 
against the stings of the bees. Mr. Pennant seems 
to have confounded this animal with the K Capefi- 
sis, described in the preceding article. Both spe- 
cies, indeed, are said to feed on honey, but Sparr- 
man makes no mention of any offensive effluvia 
in his description. 
CIVET. 
Viverra Civetta. V. cSiuda superius maculata, versus apkem 
fusca, juha castaneq, dorso diiereo fuscoque maculato. Lin. 
Syst. Nat* Gmel. p, 89 . 
Ash-coloured W. spotted with black, with chesnut-coloured 
mane^ and dusky tail spotted towards the base. 
Meles fasciis et maculis albis, nigris & rufescentibus variegata. 
Bliss. Quadr. p, 1S6. 
Felis Zibethi. Gesn, Quadr. p. 836. Aldr. dig, 343. 
Civette. Buff. 9. p. 299. pi. 34. 
. The Viverra Civetta, commonly known by the 
name of the Civet Cat, is a native of several 
parts of Africa and India. The general length of 
this animal, from nose to tail, is something more 
than two feet, and the tail measures fourteen 
inclies. The ground-colour of the body is yel- 
lowish ash-grey, marked with large blackish or 
dusky spots, disposed in longitudinal rows on 
each side, and sometimes a tinge of ferruginous 
appears intermixed: the hair is coarse, and along 
the top of the back stands up, so as to form a 
