OCR Text |
Show 108 MAMMALIA. of the hairs white, except on the ears, shoul~ers, and. tail, where they are of a pure black. The end of th~ tail Is all white. From North America. Its fur is most beautiful, and very costly. c. lagopus, L.; Schreb. XCIII. (The Blue Fo~ or Isatis.) D eep ash-colour ,• the under surface of the toes .h a1ry;( 1) of.t en white in winter. From the north of both contments, parttcu-larly from Norway and Siberia; much esteemed for its fur. c. mesomelas,(2) Schreb. XCV. (The Cape Fox-_) Fa~ncoloured on the flanks ; middle of the nose black, niixed Wlth white, terminating in a point behind; the ears red as well as the feet· the two posterior thirds of the tail black, &c. The interi~r of Africa produces Foxes remarkable for the size of \heir ears, and the strength of the hairs of their mustachios ; they are the MEGALOTIS of Illiger. There are two known, the C. megalotis, Lalande; a Cape species, something smaller than our common Fox, higher on its feet ; yellowish grey above, whitish beneath; the feet, tail and a dorsal line black. C. zerda, Gm., or Fennec of Bruce; Buff. Supp. III, xix. Ears still larger; a small species of an almost white fawn colour, which burrows in the sands of Nubia ;(3) its hair is woolly, and extends under the toes. Finally, we may place after the Dogs, as a fourth subgenus, distinguished by the number of toes, which is four to each foot, the Hyrena venatica, Bursch.; H. picta, Temm., An. Gen. des Sc. Phys. III. (The Wild Dog of the Cape.) It has the dental system of the Dog and not that of the Hyena ; a long and thin form; the fur mottled, with white and fawn colour, grey and black ; size of the Wolf, large ears with black tips, &c. It is gregarious, and frequently approaches Cape Town, devastating its environs. VIVERRA. The Civets have three false molars above and four below, the an· terior of which sometimes fall out; two tolerably large tuberculous teeth above, one only below, and two tubercles projecting forwards on the inner side of the inferiot· carnivorus, the rest of that tooth (1) Several of the Foxes, and even the common one, have hair under their feet in the north. (2) Gmelin has confounded it with the adive ofBuffon, which is a factitious spe· cies, and does not differ from the Jackal. (3) Bruce's figure, copied by Buffon, and subsequently by all his compi· lers, greatly1exaggerates the size of the ears. We have at last a good figure and exact description of this animal in the Voy. of Uuppcl, Zoolog. pl. iii. CARNARIA. 109 being more or less tuberculous. The tongue is bristled with sharp and rough papillre. Their claws are more or less raised as they walk, and near the anus is a pouch more or less deep, where an unctuous and frequently an odorous matter oozes from peculiar glands. They are divided into four subgenera. VxvERRA, Cuv. In the true Civets the deep pouch situated between the anus and the organ of generation, and divided into two sacs, is filled with an abundant pommade of a strong musky odour, secreted by glands which surround the pouch. This substance is an article of commerce, and is used by the perfumers. It was more employed when musk and ambergrease were unknown. The pupil of the eye remains round during the day, and their claws are only semi-retractile. V. civetta, L.; Buff. IX, xxxiv. (The Civet.) Ash-coloured, irregularly barred and spotted with black; the tailless than the body, black towards the end, with four or five rings near its base; two black bands encircling the throat, and one surrounding the face ; a mane along the whole length of the spine and tail that bristles up at the will of the animal. From the hottest parts of Africa. V. zibetha, L.; Buff. IX, xxxi. (The Zibet.) Ash-coloured, spotted with black; black half-rings on the whole tail; black bands on the sides of the neck ; no mane. From the East Indies. GENETTA, Cuv. In the Genets the pouch is reduced to a slight depression formed ~y the projection of the glands, and has scarcely any visible excretion, altho~gh an odour is diffused from it that is very perceptible. In the light the pupil forms a vertical fissure, and the nails are completely retractile, as in the Cat. V. genetta, L. (The Common Genet.) Grey, spotted with brown or black, the muzzle blackish; white spots on the eyebrows, cheeks and each side of the end of the nose; tail the l~ngth of the body, annulated with black and white, the black rings being from nine to eleven in number. Found from the south of France to the Cape of Good Hope, differing in the size and number of the spots in the bands along the shoulder and neck, as well as in the lines on the nape of the neck, &c.( 1) It li's(tl)Nl'he best figure of a Genet is that given by Pennant, Synops. No. 172, J • 0 280 d h . ' 'un er t e Improper name of Fossane. Jt is the variety most fre- |