Viverra Rasse. Horsf.

The present species is remarkably¹ distinct from the preceding both in form and colour. Its ground is of a much lighter² gray, on which it offers a broad longitudinal dorsal³ line of black, and two or three narrower ones of the same colour on each side, composed of confluent spots. These spots are also thickly but somewhat irregularly scattered⁴ over the rest of the body, and may be considered as forming a series of flexuous dotted lines. The legs are black externally; and the head is grayish and without spots. A deep longitudinal black line occupies the side of the neck above, and a second more oblique⁵ is placed below. The body, which is from fifteen to eighteen inches in length, is narrow and compressed,[104] and more elevated behind than before; the back is strongly arched. The line of the profile is perfectly⁶ straight, the muzzle⁷ narrow and tapering⁸, and the ears short and rounded. The tail is of equal length with the body, and tapers⁹ gradually to the tip; it is marked with eight or nine broad rings of black, alternating with an equal number of grayish.

Like the other animals of its group, its habits are predatory; in confinement¹⁰ it retains much of its original ferocity, and is extremely spiteful and savage¹¹. The two individuals from which our figure was taken have inhabited the Menagerie for nearly twelve months; they are both males, and occupy different

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