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Show 1882.] AFRICAN MUNGOOSES. 07 Skulls. Palate- Palate- Incisors to Basicra- Length. Breadth, length, breadth, cross line, nial axis. a. Cape c. 4*3 2*14 2*47 1*35 1*50 1*55 b. N o locality . . 4*18 1*98 2*35 1*24 1*49 1*50 c. Kingwilliams-town 4*15 1*91 2*36 1*28 1*50 - For teeth, see p. 78. These two closely allied species, //. ichneumon and II. coffer, seem to be very common over their respective ranges. There can never be any difficulty in distinguishing either of them from all others, as their large size and long black tail-tips readily separate them from all their congeners. Their nearest ally seems to be H. jerdoni, Gr., from India; but that is considerably smaller, and has an entirely distinct range from either of them. With regard to their distinctness from each other, I was at first disposed to regard them as only races of one species, as Temminck had done ; but I have found such constancy in their distinguishing characters that, combined with the fact of their ranges being in diffe* rent zoological regions, I have been induced to retain them as distinct species. There is no doubt, however, that they are very closely allied ; but when we remember how very distinct the faunas of the southern Palaearctic and of the Ethiopian regions are, scarcely any species being common, it would naturally seem preferable to consider as distinct two forms so fairly well marked as are 77. ichneumon and H. coffer, when the line of demarcation between them so exactly corresponds with what is generally recognized as the boundary between the two zoological regions. I cannot find any characters whatever by which to separate, even as a variety, the Spanish Ichneumon (H. wield ring toni) from the form found on the southern side of the Straits of Gibraltar. In the specific diagnosis of //. ichneumon given above, mention is made of the fact that occasionally the posterior part of the hind soles are hairy, instead of being bald as is usual. In connection with this, it is worthy of remark that a partly hairy sole seems to be accompanied by an increased length of the hallux, as though certain individuals or families were accustomed, probably on account of the nature of the soil, to walk in a more digitigrade manner than usual, and the hallux were in these cases elongated sufficiently to reach the ground. In H. galera I have also found the same thing, there being one of our West-African specimens of that species with a hairy sole and elongated hallux, whilst all others of the large series that I have examined have naked soles and short halluces; The following will show the extent of these differences, which, being quite unaccompanied by other special characters, are most certainly not specific :- In a hairy-soled H. ichneumon the posterior 0*9 in., and in the similar H. galera 1 '45 in., is densely clothed with hair, while in all 5* |
