388 MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS. 



rowing animal." Sitka is, I believe, the principal settlement 

 of the Russians on Norfolk Sound and Paget' s Sound, a few 

 degrees north of the Columbia river. 



The head is broader than that of Sciurus Hudsonicus, and 

 the forehead much arched ; the ears, which are situaetd far 

 back on the head, are short, oval, and thickly clothed with 

 fur. They are not tufted, as in the Sciurus Hudsonicus, and 

 Sci. vulgaris of Europe, but a quantity of longer fur, situated 

 on the outer base of the ear, and rising two or three lines 

 above the margins, gives the ears the appearance of being 

 somewhat tufted. In the squirrels generally, the posterior 

 margin of the ear doubles forward, to form a valve over the 

 auditory opening, and the anterior one curves in form of a 

 helix ; in the present species, the margins are less folded than 

 those of any other which I have examined. Whiskers longer 

 than the head ; feet and toes short ; rudimental thumb armed 

 with a broad flat nail ; nails slender, compressed, arched and 

 acute ; the third on the fore feet is rather the longest, as in 

 the squirrels. The tail bears some resemblance to that of the 

 flying squirrel, and is thickly clothed with hair, which is a 

 little coarser than that on the back. On the fore feet the 

 palms are only partially covered with hair, but on the hinder 

 feet the under surface, from the heel even to the extremity of 

 the nails, is thickly clothed with short soft hairs. 



The fur is softer and more downy than that of any other 

 North American species, and the whole covering of the ani- 

 mal indicates it to be a native of a cold region. 



Dental formula ; Incisors §; Canines gg; Molars ||; — 20. 



The upper incisors are smaller and more compressed than 

 those of Sciurus Hudsonicus : the lower ones are a little long- 

 er and sharper than the upper. The upper grinders, on their 

 inner surface, have each an elevated ridge of enamel ; on the 

 outer crest or edge of the tooth, there are three sharp points 

 instead of two obtuse elevations, as in the squirrels generally, 

 and in this particular it approaches the spermophiles. In the 

 lower jaw the grinders, which are quadrangular in shape, pre- 

 sent each four sharp points. 



Colour. — The teeth are of an orange colour ; under teeth 

 nearly as dark as the upper : whiskers pale brown ; nails white. 

 The fur on the back, from the roots to near the extremity, whit- 

 ish grey, some hairs are annulated near the tips with deep yel- 

 low, slightly tipped with black ; on the sides annulated with 

 cream colour. Hind feet above grizzled with black and cream 

 colour. There is a broad line of white around the eyes ; a 

 spot of white on the hind part of the head, a little in advance 



