Zoological Society. 281 



minating abruptly on the flanks : this line is about two inches in 



length and four lines wide. 



Sciurus lanuginosus. Downy Squirrel. 



Sciurus corpore supra jiavescenti-griseo, lateribus argenleo-cinereis, 

 abdomine albo : pilis mollibus et lanuginosis : auribus brevibas : 

 palmis pilis sericeis crebre instructis ; caudd corpore breviore. 



" A singular and beautiful 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 

 further knowledge than that it was killed on the North-west coast, 

 near Sitka, where it is said to be common : it was given to me by 

 my friend W. F. Tolmie, Esq., surgeon of the Hon. Hudson's Bay 

 Companv. I saw three other specimens from Paget's Sound,, in 

 the possession of Capt. Erotchie, and understood him to say that 

 it was a burrowing animal.' Sitka is, I believe, the principal set- 

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

 decrees North of the Columbia River. 



" The head is broader than that of the Sc. Hudsonius, and the fore- 

 head much arched. The ears, which are situated far back on the 

 head, are short, oval, and thickly clothed with fur ; they are not 

 tufted as in the Sc. Hudsonius and Sc. vulgaris of Europe, but a quan- 

 tity of longer fur, situated on the outer base of the ear, and rising 

 two or three lines above the margins, give 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 to form a helix ; in the present 

 species the margins are less folded than those of any other species I 

 have examined. The whiskers are 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 a little 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 those on the back. On the fore- feet the palms 

 are only partially covered with hair ; but on the hind 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 animal indicates it 

 to be a native of a cold region. 



" Dental formula: incis. - 2 , can. — , mol. 1 -^, = 20. 



" The upper incisors are smaller and more compressed than those 

 of Sc. Hudsonius; the lower ones are a little longer and sharper than 

 Ann. Nat. Hist. Vol. 3. No. 1/. June 1839. x 



