MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS. 387 



Colour. — The fur on the back is dark plumbeous from the 

 roots, tipped with rusty brown and black, giving it a rusty 

 grey appearance. It is less rufous than the Sciurus Hudso- 

 nius, and lighter coloured than Set. Townsendii. The feet, 

 on their upper surface, are rufous ; on the shoulders, fore- 

 head, ears, and along the thighs, there is a slight tinge of the 

 same colour. The whiskers, which are a little longer than the 

 head, are black. The whole of the under surface, as well as 

 a line around the eyes, and a small patch above the nostrils, 

 smoke grey. The tail, for about one half its length, presents 

 on the upper surface, a dark rufous appearance, many of the 

 hairs being nearly black, pointed with light rufous ; at the 

 extremity of the tail, for about an inch and three quarters in 

 length, the hairs are black, a few of them slightly tipped with 

 rufous. The hind feet, from the heel to the palms, are thickly 

 clothed with short, adpressed, light-coloured hairs ; the palms 

 are naked. The sides are marked by a line of black, com- 

 mencing at the shoulder, and terminating abruptly on the 

 flanks ; this line is about two inches in length and four lines 

 wide. 



DIMENSIONS. 



IN. L. 



Length of head and body 6 2 



Tail (vertebra;) .* 3 6 



Ditto including fur 5 



Height of ear posteriorly „ 3 



Ditto including fur „ 5 



Palm and middle fore claw 1 3 



Sole and middle hind claw 1 9 



The specimen from which I have described is labelled, — 

 "Rocky Mts. Aug. 12, 1834." 



17. Downy Squirrel. Sciurus lanuginosus. 



Characters. — Size of Sciurus Hudsonicus ; ears short, well clothed 

 with hair; tail shorter than the body; palms and inner surface of the toes 

 thickly clothed with silky hairs ; fur soft and downy; yellowish grey on the 

 back, silver grey on the sides, white on the belly. 



A singular and beautiful little quadruped, to which I have 

 conceived the above name appropriate, was sent to me with 

 the collection of Dr. Townsend. He states in his letter, — 

 " Of this animal I have no farther knowledge than that it was 

 killed on the north-west coast, near Sitka-, where it is said to 

 be common, and given to me by my friend W. F. Tolmie Esq. 

 surgeon of the Hon. Hudson's Bay Company. I saw three 

 other specimens from Paget's Sound, in the possession of 

 Capt. Brotchie, and understood him to say that H was a bur- 



