Of these, the most famous is the fossa, a sort of giant mongoose the size of a beagle but with a very long tail. Its smaller relatives are the falanouc, and the fanaloka whose Latin name, confusingly, is Fossa fossana. The fossa’s own Latin name is Cryptoprocta (‘hidden anus’), referring to the fact that its anus is concealed by a pouch, thought to help in scent marking.
