A hand-book to the carnivora. Pt. I, Cats, civets, and mungooses / by Richard Lydekker.

  • Lyddeker, Richard, 1849-1915.
Date:
[1894]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A hand-book to the carnivora. Pt. I, Cats, civets, and mungooses / by Richard Lydekker. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    286/395
    the last upper molar tooth is relatively larger and more tri- angular than is generally the case in that genus, and the lower carnassial has a larger heel. I he genus is essentially an African one, although the type species ranges into Southern Europe and Palestine. I. THE COMMON GENET. GENETTA VULGARIS. Viverra genetta, Linn., Syst. Nat. ed. 12, vol. i. p. 65 (1766). Genetta afra,Y. Cuvier, Hist. Nat. Mamm. pt. lii. (1825). Genetta vulgaris, Lesson, Man. Mamm. p. 173 (1827). Genetta bonaparti, Loche, Rev. Mag. Zool. ser. 2, vol. ix. p. 385 (1S57). Characters.—General colour blackish-grey, marked with black spots and streaks and a black dorsal stripe; tail relatively long, with the white and black rings of nearly equal length, and the tip whitish ; fore-limbs greyish, with black spots ; hind-legs black posteriorly in the neighbourhood of the ankle-joint. Length of head and body, about 19^ inches ; of tail, 15^ inches. Distribution.—Southern Europe, namely, Erance, Spain, and Turkey; North Africa; and Palestine. This is one of the very few species of the Family common to Europe and Africa. Habits.—In general habits the Common Genet (and the other species probably also) appears to be very similar to the Civets, living on the ground, and being found both in wooded and open country, and likewise on bush-covered mountains. Although rare in the south of France, it is stated to be com- moner in Spain, but even there is seldom seen. Small Rodents, birds, and their eggs form its chief nutriment; and in pursuit of its prey the Genet is remarkable for the almost Snake-like manner in which it steals among the herbage, with its body elongated and depressed to the greatest possible degree. Its breeding-habits in the wild state are unknown, but in captivity only a single young one is produced at a birth. Genets are