Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 15.djvu/460

Rh 436 MAMMALIA [CAENIVORA. more or less compressed at the sides. The outer or anterior chamber very small and flat. The meatus with scarcely any inferior lip, its orifice being close to the tympanic ring. Paroccipital pro cess triangular, its apex proJ3cting slightly beyond the bulla. Claws strongly curved and more or less retractile. Viverra. Dentition: i |, c, p |, m|=f; total 40. Skull elongated ; facial portion small and compressed. Orbits well- defined but incomplete behind. Vertebra : C 7, D 13, L 7 (or D 14, L 6), S 3, C 22-30. Body elongated and compressed. Head pointed iu front ; ears rather small. Extremities short. Feet small and rounded. Toes short, five on each foot. First toe both on fore and hind feet much shorter than the others. Palms and soles covered with hair, except the pads of the feet and toes, and in some species a narrow central line on the under side of the sole, extending backwards nearly to the heel. Tail moderate or long. A pair of large glandular follicles situated on the perineum (in both sexes), and secreting in most species an oily substance of a peculiarly penetrating odour. The numerous species of this genus form a large series, the two extremes of which differ considerably, but the several sections into which they may be divided blend so into one another that it is difficult to differentiate them sharply. (1) Viverra proper. This includes the largest species. The teeth are stouter and less com pressed than in the other sections. The second upper molar especially larger. The auditory bulla smaller and more pointed in front. Body shorter and stouter ; limbs longer ; tail shorter, tapering. Under side of tarsus completely covered with hair. Claws longer and less retractile. Fur rather long and loose, and in the middle line of the neck and back especially elongated so as to form a sort of crest or mane. Pupil circular when contracted. Perineal glands greatly developed. These characters apply especially to V. cicdta, the African Civet, or &quot; Civet Cat&quot; as it is commonly called, an animal rather larger than a common Fox, and an inhabi tant of intratropical Africa. V. zibetta, the Indian Civet, of about equal size, approaches in many respects, especially in the characters of the teeth and feet and absence of the crest of elongated hair on the back, to the next section. It inhabits Bengal, China, the Malay Peninsula, and adjoining islands. V. tanyalunga is a smaller but nearly allied animal from the same part of the world. From these three species and the next the civet of commerce, once so much admired as a perfume in England, and still largely used in the East, is obtained. The animals are kept in cages, and the odoriferous secretion collected by scraping the interior of the perineal follicles with a spoon or spatula. (2) Viverricula. This section resembles generally the next, but with the whole of the under side of the tarsus hairy. Alisphenoid canal generally absent. V, malaccensis, the Basse, inhabiting India, China, Java, and Sumatra, is an elegant little animal, which affords a favourite perfume to the Javanese. (3) Genetta. The Genettes are smaller animals, with more elongated and slender bodies, and shorter limbs than, the Civets. Skull elongated and narrow. Auditory bulla large, elongated, rounded at both ends. Teeth compressed and sharp-pointed ; a lobe on the inner side of the third upper premolar not present in the previous section. Pupil contracting to a linear aperture. Tail long, slender, ringed. Fur short and soft, spotted or cloudy. Under side of the tarso-m eta tarsus with a narrow longi tudinal bald streak. V. gcncita, the common Genette, is found in France south of the river Loire, Spain, south-western Asia, and Africa from Barbary to the Cape. V. felina, sencgalcnsis, tigrina, and pardalis are other named species, all African in habitat. (4) Fossa. V. fossa, from Madagascar, may belong to a distinct section or genus, but its structure is very imperfectly known. (5) In some of the smallest species the second upper motor (already reduced to very small dimensions in the Genettes) is absent ; in other respects their dentition agrees with section 3. V. gracilis and V. pardicolor, both from southern Asia, constitute the genus Prionodon of Hors- field ; V. richardsonii, from West Africa, the genus Poiana of Gray. The former has the back of the tarsus hairy, the latter has a narrow naked streak as in the Genettes. All the animals of this genus are, for their size, extremely active, fierce, and rapacious. They feed chiefly on small mammals and birds. A rctidls. Dentition: i, c , p -*, m -f = J; total 40. The posterior upper molar and the first lower premolar very often a&quot;bseut. Molar teeth generally small and rounded, with a distinct interval between every two, but formed generally on the same pattern as Parodoxurus. Vertebra? : C 7, D 14, L 5, S 3, C 34. Body elon gated. Head broad behind, with a small pointed face. Whiskers long and numerous. Ears small, rounded, but clothed with a pencil of long hairs. Eyes small. Limbs short. Soles and palms broad, entirely naked. Tail very long and prehensile. Fur long and harsh. Ciecum extremely small. But one species is known, A. binturony, the Binturong, an inhabitant of southern Asia from Nepal through the Malay Peninsula to the islands of Sumatra and Java. Although structurally agreeing closely with the Paradoxures, its tufted ears, long, coarse, and dark hair, and prehensile tail give it a very different external appearance. It is slow and cautious in its movements, chiefly if not entirely arboreal, and appears to feed on vegetable as well as animal substances. Paradoxurus. Dentition: i %, c $, p $, m =  total 40. The blunt and rounded form of the cusps of the hinder premolar and the molar teeth distinguishes this genus from most of the members of the family. Vertebra : C 7, D 13, L 7, S 3, C 29-36. Head pointed in front. Ears small, rounded. Body long. Limbs moderate. Palms and soles almost entirely naked. Claws com pletely retractile. Tail long, non-prehensile. The Paradoxures or Palm-Civets are less strictly carnivorous than the other members of the family. They are mostly about the size of the common Cat, or rather larger, and are partly arboreal in their habits. The species are rather numerous, and present considerable variations in the details of the form and size of their molar teeth. They are restricted geographically to southern Asia and the Indo- Malayan archipelago. The best known species are P. bondar, P. zcylanicus, P. typus, P. musanga, P. larvata, and P. grayi. P. virgaia has. been separated from the others, and raised into a distinct genus, Arctogale, on account of the smallness of the teeth and the elonga tion of the bony palate. Otherwise it seems not to differ from the others. Nandinia contains one species, N. Mnotata, a somewhat aberrant Paradoxure, from West Africa. It is rather smaller than the true Paradoxures, has smaller and more pointed molar teeth, and no caecum. The wall of the inner chamber of the auditory bulla remains through life unossified. Hemigalca, another modification of the Paradoxure type, con tains one species, H. hardwickii, from Borneo, an elegant-looking animal, smaller and more slender than the Paradoxures, of light grey colour, with transverse broad dark bands across the back and loins. Cynogale also contains one species, C. bcnncttii, Gray (described by S. Muller under the name of Potamopldlus barbatus), from Borneo. This is a curious Otter-like modification of the Viverrine type, having semi-aquatic habits, both swimming in the water and climb ing trees, living upon fish, Crustacea, small mammals, birds, and fruit. The number and general arrangement of its teeth are as in Para doxurus, but the premolars are peculiarly elongated, compressed, pointed, and recurved, somewhat as in the Seals, though the molars are tuberculated. The head is elongated, the muzzle broad and depressed. Whiskers very long and abundant. Ears small and rounded. Toes short and slightly webbed at the base. Tail short, cylindrical, covered with short hair. Fur very dense and soft, of a dark brown colour, mixed with black and grey. Subfamily Herpestinse. Auditory bulla very prominent, ami somewhat pear-shaped, the posterior chamber being large, rounded, and generally with its greatest prominence to the outer side. The anterior chamber considerably dilated, and produced into a short inferior wall to the auditory meatus, in which is a depression or vacuity just below the centre of the opening of the meatus. Sometimes this vacuity is continued into the meatus, forming a narrow fissure. The paroccipital process does not project beyond the bulla, but is spread out and lost (in adult animals) on its posterior surface. Toes straight ; claws lengthened, exserted, non- retractile. Hcrpestcs. Dentition : i f, c, p f, sometimes f , m f ; 40 or 36. Teeth of molar series generally with strongly-developed, sharply- pointed cusps. Skull elongated, constricted behind the orbits. Face short and compressed. Frontal region broad and arched. Post- orbital processes of frontal and malar bones well-developed, gene rally meeting so as to complete the circle of the orbit behind. Vertebra}: C 7, D 13, L 7, S3, C 21-26. Head pointed in front. Ears short and rounded. Body very long and slender. Extrem ities short. Five toes on each foot, the first, especially that on the hind foot, very short. Toes free, or but slightly palmated. Palms naked. Distal portion of soles naked, under surface of tarsus and metatarsus clothed with hair. Tail long or moderate, generally thick at the base, and sometimes covered with more or less elongated hair. The longer hairs covering the body and tail almost always anuulatrd. This genus contains a very large number of animals commonly called Ichneumons, or in India Mongooses, varying in size from that of a large Cat down to a Weasel. They are widely distributed over the African continent and the southern parts of Asia, especially India and the Indo-Malayan archipelago, one species occurring also in Spain. They are mostly terrestrial in their habits, feeding on small mammals and birds, reptiles, especially snakes, eggs of birds and reptiles, and also insects. Some species are partially domesti cated, being used to keep houses clear of rats, mice, and snakes. H. ichneumon was a sacred animal to the ancient Egyptians. They vary considerably in appearance, some, as H. galera (also called paludinosus and robustus], are larger and heavier, with stouter body, longer limbs, and stronger teeth. Others are small. with very elongated bodies and short legs. The tail also varies somewhat in length, and in the amount of hair with which it is covered. These trivial differences have given rise to the formation by some zoologists of very numerous genera, the characters of which are by no means clearly defined, but the following are the most dis tinct and generally recognized.