FAMILY MURID.E. 85 



the length of the head and body, five inches ; of the tail, two inches. He states that the 

 female has four pectoral and four abdominal teats, and brings forth eight young at a litter. It 

 frequents marshy places, living chiefly on the seeds of plants growing in such localities. It 

 burrows in the banks for its retreat, and for rearing its young. 



The Marsh Meadow-mouse is not uncommon in various parts of the State. I have seen 

 specimens from Oneida, Seneca and Otsego counties. At present, it is known to extend from 

 Delaware Bay to the forty-third degree of north latitude, and it will probably be found in all 

 the Eastern States. 



THE TAWNY MEADOW-MOUSE. 



Arvicola rufescens. 

 PLATE XXII. FIG. I. 



Characteristics. Light reddish brown above ; slate beneath. Tail longer than the head. 

 Length 6-7 inches. 



Description. Body robust. Head large, conical, with an arched forehead. Nose bluntly 

 pointed ; nostrils bilobate, subterminal, and beset with short, erect and rigid hairs. Mouth 

 beneath, the upper lip fringed with short white incurved hairs, and on the cheeks are long 

 white bristles. Whiskers as long as the head, brownish, and occasionally whitish at the tips. 

 Eyes small and black, nearly equidistant between the ears and muzzle. Ears large, much 

 dilated and rounded, covered with long hairs extending beyond the margins. The fur anterior 

 to the ear is very long ; and when the ears lie back, although large, they are nearly concealed 

 in the fur. Fore feet very slender, • 8 long, with four separated slender toes, and a rudi- 

 mentary thumb furnished with a small nail. Soles with five tubercles, three arranged in a 

 triangle, and the two others transversely. Claws curved and retracted at their tips ; external 

 toe shortest, the second longest, the two middle subequal. Hind feet placed far back, 1 ■ 1 in 

 length ; the internal toe shortest, almost rudimentary, and the claws more broadly channelled 

 throughout their entire length. Soles with six tubercles, the external very small. Tail very 

 slender, subquadrate, slightly tapering, with sparse rigid hairs scarcely concealing the scales ; 

 tip moderately pencilled, not tufted. Fur on the body very soft and glossy, for the most part 

 0*3 in length ; the legs are clothed with short adpressed hair, a few white hairs extending to 

 the tips of the claws. Upper incisors broad, convex anteriorly, with a medial longitudinal 

 furrow, slightly emarginate on their cutting edges ; beneath they are more cylindrical, and 

 pointed at their tips. Upper molars with nine external angles ; beneath, the first is largest, 

 with a deep lateral sinus. 



Color. The fur on the upper part of the head and body is plumbeous at base, light rufous 

 at the tips, intermixed with scattering coarse hairs tipped with black ; hence the resulting color 

 is a bright reddish brown. Beneath, bluish white, somewhat more light on the inside of the 

 thighs. Muzzle, and the parts adjacent, of a darkish brown hue. Feet light brown. Tail of 

 a uniform dark brown above, cinereous beneath. 



