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Show 64 MR. O. THO.MAS ON T H E [Jan. 3, uniform. Dr. Anderson, in the work quoted above, has fully described and figured the skulls and dentition of the Indian forms ; and the African ones are very similar, if we except //. (Lchneumia) albi-cauda, which has, of course, as forming a distinct subgenus, many characters peculiar to itself. Synopsis of the Species. A. Tarsus nearly or quite naked below. Upper M 2 4U-60 per cent, of P.M1. Last lower molar small, with only 2 external cusps. (Subgenus HERPESTES.) I. Tip of tail with a dark-coloured pencil. a. Tail-tip black. a. Size large : head and body 20 in. or more. rt'. Skull half as broad as long. Pahcarctic 1. H. ichneumon, p. 64. b'. Skull less than half as broad as long. Ethiopian 2. R. cajfcr, p. G<>. j8. Size small: head and body 12-14 in. ... o H. gracilis, p. 68. b. Tail-tip red. y. Size small: head and body about 12 in. ... 4. H. sanguineus,]). 71. II. Tip of tail not darker. c. Dark rufous. Size large : head and body 20- 26in 5. Kgalcra,]). 72. d. Dark grizzled grey. Size medium: head and body 14-15 in G. H. pulverulcntus, p. 74. e. Light grizzled grey. Size small: head and body 10-13 in 7. H. punctatissimus, p. 74. B. Tarsus hairy beneath. Upper M 2 more than 70 per cent, of P.M4. Last lower molar large, with 3 external cusps. (Subgenus ICJINEU.MIA). I. Tail very bushy. Size large, 22-26 in 8. H. cdhicauda,^. 75. 1. HERPESTES ICHNEUMON. Viverra ichneumon, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 63 (1766). Ichneumon pharaon, Lacep. M e m . de l'lnst. iii. p. 492 (1801). Ichneumon cegypti, Tiedem. Zool. i. p. 364 (1808). Herpestes pharaonis, Geoff. Descr. de 1'Egypte, H. N. ii. p. 139 (1812). H. numidicus, F. Cuv. Hist. Nat. M a m m . iv. livr. 68 (1834). * H. widdringtoni, Gray, Ann. & Mag. N. H. ix. p. 50 (1842). H. dorsalis, Gray, P. Z. S. 1864, p. 549 (ex Smith, S. Afr. Quart. Journ. ii. p. 113, 1835) (1864). Hab. Southern Spain, Asia Minor, Palestine, and Africa north of the Sahara. Size large, about 20 inches ; form slender ; tail about 4 to 5 inches shorter than the head and body. Fur long, especially on the rump and basal quarter of the tail, where the longer hairs are often 4 or more inches in length. General colour dark grizzled grey-brown, the hairs annulated with dark red-brown and creamy yellow, the tips of the back hairs darker yellow. Underfur thick and woolly, bright rufous in colour. Tip of tail shining black, the hairs elongated so as to form a distinct tassel, sometimes reaching 5 inches beyond the vertebrae. Feet dark brown. Underside of hind feet generally quite naked, the part under the calcaneum sometimes, though rarely* hairy. |
