OCR Text |
Show 1882.] AFRICAN MUNGOOSES. 91 This species by its locality, and not C. zebra, no doubt represents the early-known " Viverra mungo," which was said to come from the " East Indies." No cross-striped Mungooses, however, are known from India, and the original specimens must have been obtained from the Cape. All the specimens with exact localities that I have seen come from the eastern parts of the Colony, and none from the western ; so that we may suppose that its true range is very similar to that of Herpestes pulverulentus1. Probably, however, tame examples were sometimes brought down to Capetown, where they would be seen by the earlier travellers. Dr. Smith says of his Ichneumon tcenionotus, " Inhabits Natal: rare." Molars of 0. gambianus .. C. zebra b... c... a... b... c... b... 'Crossarchus. P.M4. mm. 6-2 7-0 6*5 60 6-9 6*5 6-8 6-5 8-7 80 1 M2. mm. 4-8 50 5*0 4*8 4*6 45 50 51 52 5-2 Percentage. 77 71 77 60 66 69 73 79 59 57 VII. SURICATA. Type. Suricata, Desm. Tabl. Meth. Mamm. in Nouv. Diet. d'H. N. (ed. 1) xxiv. (1804) S. tetradactyla. Rhyzaena, Illig. Prodr. Syst. Mamm. p. 134 (1811) S. tetradactyla. Range. That of the only species. Toes 4-42. Teeth, I. f, C. \, P.M. \, M. \ x 2 = 38. Hind soles naked. Nose produced. No central naked line from muzzle to upper lip. Fore claws very long, twice as long as the hind. Skull very broad, the zygomata strongly diverging backwards. Facial outline convex. Posterior part of skull very high, not compressed as in Herpestes, but more as in Cynictis. Teeth very similar to 1 See p. 74. 2 In a skeleton and a specimen in spirit, I find the following rudiments of the 1st toes :-of the fore foot, in the spirit specimen, a rudimentary metacarpus, 2 m m . in length; in the skeleton, no trace of a hallux, but the above-mentioned rudiment might easily have been lost. Of the hind foot, in the spirit specimen, a hallucal metatarsal 2 m m . long and 2£ broad, and, in the skeleton, a similar rudimentary metatarsal and, in addition, a minute 1st phalanx (1 \ m m . long and 1 broad). |