ADDE^a)A. 305 



each foot has five toes ; the two inner ones 

 (thumbs) of the fore feet are remarkably short, 

 and are equipped with blunt nails ; the remaining 

 toes (nails) on the front feet are long, black, slight- 

 ly curved, and sharply pointed ; the hair of the 

 tail is thickly inserted on the sides only, which 

 gives it a flat appearance, and a long oval form ; 

 the tips of the hair forming the outer edges of the 

 tail are white, the other extremity of a fox-red ; 

 the under part of the tail resembles an iron-gray, 

 the upper is of a reddish-brown ; the lower part 

 of the jaws, the under part of the neck, legs, and 

 feet, from the body and belly downwards, are of a 

 light brick-red ; the nose and eyes are of a darker 

 shade of the same colour ; the upper part of the 

 head, neck and body, are of a curious brown-gray, 

 with a slight tinge of brick-red ; the longer hairs 

 of these parts are of a reddish-white colour at their 

 extremities, and falling together, give this animal 

 a speckled appearance. 



Habit. These animals form in large companies 

 like those on the Missouri, {Arctomys ludoviciani^ 

 Ord,) occupying, with their burrows, sometimes 

 two hundred acres of land ; the burrows are sepa- 

 rate, and each possesses, perhaps, ten or twelve 

 of these inhabitants. There is a little mound in 

 front of the hole, formed of the earth throAvn out 

 of the burrow, and frequently there are three or 

 four distinct holes, forming one burrow, with these 

 entrances around the base of these little mounds^ 



39 



