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Show 548 COL. YERBURY AND MR. o. THOMAS O N [June 18, This is probably the Cat occasionally seen near the edge of desert. When Yerbury was shooting Sand-Grouse in the neighbourhood of Shulaif, in company with Mr. Chevallier, the latter said that he had fired at a large Cat, but had not bagged it. 16. FELIS CARACAL, Giild. Two specimens of this Lynx are known to be have been obtained in the neighbourhood of' Aden: one is in the possession of Mr. Chevallier, and was shot by him near Haithalhim in the year 1884 or 1885; the other was obtained later on by another employe of the Telegraph Company, but exactly when and where was not recorded. 17. HERPESTES, sp. inc. (probably H. albicauda, Cuv.). A Mungoose was seen at Haithalhim. The white-tailed species has been recorded by Thomas from Muscat, and no doubt occurs at Aden. 18. HYAENA HY^NA, Linn. A Striped Hyaena was brought into Aden from the neighbourhood of Bir Ahmed, and was seen by Mr. C. Chevallier. Hyaenas are reported to have been seen in the neighbourhood of Camp Aden ; but this is the only authenticated record of its existence that is forthcoming. 19. CANIS AUREUS, Linn, (or anthus, Geoffr.). A Jackal is without doubt to be found in the neighbourhood : one was seen near the Municipal bungalow at Shaik Othman, and another in Aden itself near the Isthmus position. 20. VULPES NILOTICA, Geoffr. (?) A, b. d 2 - Shaik Othman. 5. IV. 95. The form obtained appears to be the common one in Aden itself and round the isthmus, that seen in the desert being altogether a brighter coloured animal. In the present somewhat chaotic state of our knowledge of Foxes we do not venture to assign these specimens positively to V. nilotica or any other species ; but there seems to be so little difference between them and Egyptian examples, that we propose to use this name for the present. W e may note that some at least of the specimens from Muscat, determined by Thomas * as V. leucopus, Bly., are really the same as the present comparatively large animal; while others, again, agree very closely with Rajputana examples of Blyth's species, as Blanford has pointed out2. Yerbury saw at Daraimia an individual of what he believed to be a second species of Fox, but was unable to procure a specimen. Perhaps this will prove to be the true V. leucopus. 1 P.Z.S. 1894, p. 450. - Mamm. Brit. Ind. p. 152 (1888). |