OCR Text |
Show 1885.] GENUS PARADOXURUS. 803 not prolonged behind. Inner lobe of upper sectorial well developed. The anterior upper true molar broader inside than in the common species, being nearly rectangular. Colour uniform dull rusty red or dull chestnut (as Blyth remarks, very like that of the Common European Weasel), passing, however, in some specimens (P. montanus or P. zeylanicus, var. fuscus, Kelaart) into a browner tint. The fur and underfur of nearly the same colour throughout; no black tips to the fur. Faint longitudinal dorsal streaks may be detected on many specimens. A white sub-terminal band on the tail has been observed. Vibrissa? whitish in dried skins, probably the same colour as the other hairs originally. Dimensions. A fully grown female, according to Kelaart, measured, head and body 19 inches, tail 15*5, height 8. Skull 4*15 inches long. Distribution. The island of Ceylon, apparently throughout, the darker variety being from a considerable elevation. This species may at once be distinguished by its colour. The dentition differs considerably from that of P. niger, the only other kind found in Ceylon, and proves that the present is not a rufous variety of that species. Synonymy. It has already been shown that this Paradoxurus cannot be identified with Viverra zeylonensis, the colour being very different. Gray's original P. zeylanicus was P. philippinensis, and Kelaart appears to have been the first to apply the term P. zeylanicus to the present kind. Although F. Cuvier's name aureus was given to a very young specimen, there is no other species known to which the description " couleur d'un beau fauve dore uniform4- ment repandu sur lout son corps" can apply. 7. PARADOXURUS GRAYI. Paradoxurus grayi, Bennett, P.Z.S. 1835, p. 118; Wagner, Schreb. Saugeth. Suppl. ii. p. 340(1841) ; Horsfield, P. Z. S. 1856, p. 396; Blyth, Cat. Mam. Mus. A. S. p. 48; Cat. Mam. Birds Burma, p. 26 ; Jerdon, Mammals of India, p. 128; ?Ball, Stray Feathers, ii. p. 369. P. nipalensis, Hodgson, As. Res. xix. p. 76 (1836); J. A. S. B. x. p. 909, xi. p. 279 ; Calc. Jour. Nat. Hist. iv. p. 287; Wagner, Schreb. Saugeth. Supp. ii. p. 341 ; Schinz, Syn. Mam. i. p. 387. Paguma qrayii, Gray, List Sp. Mam. B. M. 1843, p. 54 ; Cat. Hodgs. Coll. B. M. 1846, p. 9 ; 2nd ed. 1863, p. 5 ; Horsf. Cat. Mam. Mus. E. I. C. p. 66; Gray, P.Z.S. 1864, p. 541; Cat. Cam. Mam. B. M. 1869, p. 73. Paradoxurus tytlerii, Tytler, J. A. S. B. xxxiii. p. 188 (1864). Larger than P. hermaphroditus. Tail about the same length as the head and body. Fur varying in length but uniform, not ragged ; woolly underfur frequently well developed. In the skull the constriction behind the postorbital process is less than in the preceding species, and the forehead between the orbits more rounded. The bony palate runs back above the posterior nares for 0*4 to 0*5 inch behind a line drawn through the hinder edge of the posterior molars, and is deeply concave at the end. Teeth smaller |