1776. The legs arelhort; toes five on each of the fore feet, armed with projecting claws an inch and a half long, but thofe of the hind feet no more than half that length. Thefe claws have a iharp edge, which half way up the fore part of it is double, or rather excavated with a deep furrow; a tir- cumftance that apparently greatly affifts the animal in digging. There is .nothing like ear-laps to be feen on this creature, excepting a trifling rim round about a rather large aperture, in which is placed the organ of hearing. Colour; the forehead, crown of the head, nape of the neck, ihoulders, back, and tail are of an aih colour; the nofe, and the part round the eyes, and on the cheek-bone, the ears, the lower part of the neck, the breaft, belly, thighs, and legs, are o f a black hue inclining to brown; as are likewife the extreme limits of the alh-coloured part juft mentioned, which are moreover feparated from the black colour by means o f a light grey lift an inch broad, running from the ear quite back to the tail. Size of the jkin : From the tip of the nofe to the tail forty inches ; length of the tail twelve inches; that of the claws, taken together with the whole phalanx, or all the toes o f the fore feet, one inch and three quarters; of thofe o f the hind feet one inch. Two other fmall animals, which probably likewife belong to the viverra genus, I had only a hafty glimpfe of in this colony. The one we faw and gave chafe to between the two Fiih rivers, made its efcape from us, however, by running into a hole under ground, and feemed to be fomewhat Jefs than a cat, though longer in proportion. The colour of it was a bright red. Of the other fort fort -1 fifew two .at. once in the ¡vicinity .of Niez-hout- kloof, when they initantly ran out of my fight, and hjd themfelves in albuih. -¡'They appeared;fo be of a coal-black colour, and above a foot h igh ; yet. I am not certain, whether they were not onkjes jackals, the animal I have already made mention o f at, page, x 7 6 of; this Volume..,'; i,The foirmer o f thefe likewife,' I mean the light or role-Colbured animal, might be, for aught I know,; thQ zer'da, oz oiulpes. minimus farenfis o/;M. S k io l- debranp, the Swediih conful at Algiers; (vide the Swedijh fxanfctffiwsi.or.17,77,;:page. 265) notlbelng able during.the ghafe, ,to attend to its ears-fo aac»E-ateJfy asiifcopldhave wifhed; and at the fametime having; been informed, that -thSfe:Was a verv fmall animal, with-long ears,, which lived under gtound, and wa^notinfrequently feen on the plains in Camdebojb ut was>'difl|QVilt tQ^atchri^qfpeciallyr as'lit never; went far from-' its hole. '.,ln: this;point likewife, it.anfwers to the'defcription of th e ,<%erda quoted above; but this again feems in- confiftent with the account given of it by Mr. Bruce, who fays it liyesin palm-trees, (on the fruit oft which it fubfifts,) fijutboof .the-Talus Tritonidiss (Vide- B uf- Supplement, Tom. III. page 148, Tab. XIX,) It is’ poffible,-indeed, that this creature is to be found in Libya ; but I have been informed by M. S kiolde - BRAitin,; that Mn Bruce had previoufly, feen this animal in A lg ie r s (where both, thele gentlemen were confuls to-1 gefher). and had employed the, fame painter as M. Skiou-; debrand did, to make a .drawing of i t ; and hence it is, that un. comparing the two figures, viz. of the animal- from „.Libya, ¡and.,of that from Algiers^ it plainly- appears,11 You. II. B b that «770;- . January.1
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