The animal called _berbé_, in Guinea seems to us to be the same as the fossane, and consequently that this species exists in Africa as well as in Asia. "The _berbé_ (says Bosman) has a more pointed snout, and a smaller body, than our cat, and is speckled like the civet." We know of no animal with which these characters so well agree as with that of the fossane. THE VANSIRE. Those who have spoken of this animal have taken it for a ferret, to which indeed it has a great resemblance; but it differs in characters sufficiently strong to warrant our considering it as a distinct species. The vansire, or, as it is called by some, the Madagascar weasel, of which place it is a native, has twelve grinders in its upper jaw, while the ferret has only eight; and the lower grinders, though ten in number in both animals, are neither alike in shape nor situation. Besides, the vansire differs in the colour of its hair from all ferrets, though those, like every other animal which man is careful of rearing and increasing, vary so much in colour, that there is a difference even between male and female. To us it appears, that the animal mentioned by Seba as the _weasel of Java_, and which, he says, the natives call _koger-angan_, and afterwards spoken of by Brisson by the name of the _ferret of Java_, may possibly be the same animal as the vansire, at least it comes nearer to the vansire than to any animal at present known; but Seba's description is not sufficiently complete to establish a just comparison, which is absolutely necessary to form a solid and explicit judgment. THE MAKI.[AT] [AT] The word _maki_ has probably been derived from _mocoek_ or _maucauc_, which is the name given to these animals at Mozambique and in the islands of Madagascar, whence it originally proceeded. As this name Maki has been given to several animals we can only use it as a generic term, under which we comprehend three animals of the same class, but varying in characters sufficiently numerous to constitute different species. These three animals have long tails, and feet shaped like those of the monkey; but their snout is long, like that of the martin; and they have six incisive teeth in the under jaw, while the monkeys have but four.