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Show 1900.] MAMMALS OF SIAM AND THE MALAY PENINSULA. 327 twisted or knotted tail, or else a mere bob. In Johore I have seen a very remarkably coloured variety of cat, somewhat like the English " tortoise-shell," but the different colours arranged more in spots than in blotches. The " Siamese " cat is fairly common in Siam, and not " reserved for royalty " (Lydekker, Royal Nat. Hist. i. p. 429, line 7). In Bangkok and the Straits Settlements it is not so much prized as a domestic pet as is the somewhat similar, but darker coloured, "Laos" cat from Northern Siam. In this region as elsewhere cats " frequently relapse from a state of domestication, resort to the jungle, and shun the presence of man " (Cantor, p. 38). Family VIVERRIDVE. Subfamily VIVERRIN.E. 26. VIVERRA ZIBETHA L. The Large Indian Civet. Viverra zibetha, Blanf. Faun. Ind., Mamm. p. 96. " Tanggallong" of the Malays of the Peninsula (according to Cantor). " Musang jebat" of the Malays of Perak (according to L. Wray). Cantor (p. 27) records this species from Penang, Singapore, and the Peninsula, and considers it to be " far less numerous thau the following" (i. e. V. megaspila). In the Museum at Taiping there are many specimens from Larut, Perak. In the Museum at Kuala Lumpor there are twro civets from Selangor which I referred to this species, but Mr. A. L. Butler tells me he thinks they are V. megaspila. Ridley (Nat. Science, vol. vi. 1895, p. 93) says : " The larger civets V. zibetha and V. tangalunga, the ' Musang jebat,' do not, I believe, occur wild in Singapore, but are common in the Peninsula, and are often trapped and brought for sale. They are never at all docile, and seldom live long in captivity." Distribution. Bengal, Assam, Burma, Southern China, Siam, Malay Peninsula. 27. VIVERRA MEGASPILA Blyth. The Burmese Civet. Viverra tangalunga, Cantor, p. 27. Viverra megaspila, Blanf. Faun. Ind., Mamm. p. 99. " Musang jebat" of the Malays. Cantor records this species from Penang, Singapore, and the Peninsula, and says it is " exceedingly numerous." In the Museum at Taiping there are many specimens from Larut, Perak. In a deserted bungalow at Dumdruan, Gunong Pulai, Johore, I found a skin of this civet. The skin measured :-Head and body 29 in. (or 737 mm.) ; tail 111 in. (or 292 mm.). Distribution. Burma, Cochinchina, Malay Peninsula, Sumatra. 22* |
