FLORA AND FAUNA 
41 
At dusk they set out for the places on the coast and 
plunder the fruit trees. Even by day they are very 
cautious and not easy to surprise. The Malagasy catch 
them eagerly, roast them on the fire and consider the 
flesh as a great delicacy. 
Of the Rodentia, the brown rat is quite a nuisance from 
its abundance and audacity; it has of course been introduc¬ 
ed in recent times from ships. 
Of Carnivora the first to be noticed are the civet cats 
or viverrae. The beautifully striped Fossa Daubentoni 
is kept by the Indian traders for the sake of its civet, 
which is taken from its posterior gland with a spoon. 
The most important beast of prey, one which is dreaded 
in a perfectly ridiculous way by the natives, is the Pintsala 
[Cryptoprocta ferox)^ which measures 4- feet, including its 
somewhat long tail. The coat, being of a uniform yellow 
colour, indicates that its habitat is to be sought in the 
sterile districts of the north and west. The general form 
recalls the cat, but the anomalous dentition carries us 
back to an Eocene form and connects it with the extinct 
Pseudaelurus. The existence of the posterior gland indi¬ 
cates a relationship with the viverrae. It is obviously a 
transitional form between the viverridae and the true 
cats. The most striking mammals of the island are the 
lemurs. They were formerly classed with the true apes 
as being really quadrumanous, at least in the physiolog¬ 
ical sense. Some among them, the sifakas, have also 
the rounded head and the bare countenance of the 
higher apes. These are, however, mere analogues, 
partly due to similarity in the mode of life; in reality 
there exists a deep gulf between the two orders. The 
form of the skull and the dentition are markedly diverse, 
and from an embryological point of view the formation 
of the placenta is quite distinct from that which we find 
among the simiadae. 
The skin is covered with thick fine hair, the tail gener- 
